Two Alone
by judybrowneyes
Summary: Stranded on a new class M planet, Jim and Bones must do everything they can to hide from, and avoid a confrontation with Romulans
1. Chapter 1

**I hope you enjoy my new story "Two Alone." It's a Jim and Bones centered story with very few additional characters, so a little bit different from my usual multi character fics. A big thank you goes out to all my faithful readers and please let me know what you think of this new story.**

 **Two Alone**

 **Chapter** **1**

 **"Things never go wrong at the moment you expect them to.**

 **When you're completely relaxed, oblivious to any potential dangers,**

 **that's when bad things happen."**

 **C.K. Kelly Martin**

Jim shifted the heavy back pack on his shoulders. Next time they stopped, he'd have to look at the straps; they were really chafing him on one side. He cast a worried glance at Bones walking silently at his side.

"How are you doing there, Bones?"

"'M fine, Jim. Don't you worry 'bout me. I can keep up with you, so don't concern yourself none. I may not be quite as young as you are, but I'm in good shape, and I took the same survival courses as you did, you know."

"I know, Bones. You're in great shape...for a man of your advanced age," he teased, hoping to bring a smile to the tired, worn face by his side. The two of them had been walking for hours, trying to find a place where they weren't out in the open, or at least a place where they could take shelter for the night. Jim sighed. This was supposed to have been a little fun break away from the ship, from the cares of command, from the never ending paperwork. Early yesterday, this newly discovered planet had been very carefully scanned and was found to be a small class M planet. The Science Departments, geology, botany, geography, and anthropology, had studied the scans carefully, meticulously, and found its atmosphere capable of supporting life. They'd also found that although most of the planet was uninhabitable, barren, bleak and devoid of any living thing, the sensor scans showed that one area was lush and green, teeming with life. Why only one area of the planet had this lush ecosystem was one of the questions to be further explored. While there was no humanoid or alien indigenous life at all, no towns, primitive dwellings or cities, that particular area was a paradise of sorts; there was water and therefore a wealth of plants and trees to be checked out for possible medicinal properties. There were even signs of small wildlife, some types of flying creatures, analogs to Terran birds, and some indigenous insect life. As of yet, all of these had proved to be elusive and very shy; Jim and Bones hadn't seen a single living thing.

It had been Spock's suggestion that Jim and his CMO go down to the planet and have a three day camping trip. Spock wanted Bones to scan and gather any plants that he thought could be of future medicinal and scientific benefit and also to try to find some answers to the evolutionary anomaly. He readily acknowledged the superiority of McCoy's expertise in those areas and, at the same time, he could accompany Jim, who loved camping. Three days should be sufficient for the Captain to relax and enjoy the natural peaceful beauty of the area while Leonard looked for medicinal plants and for answers to their questions. Bones had quickly concurred; he thought it was one of Spock's better ideas. They had both agreed that Jim had been looking careworn and very tired; a little break would be good for him. After hurriedly and enthusiastically packing every piece of camping equipment that Jim owned, the two had happily signed off duty, and, on Jim's orders, instead of hanging around for three days after beaming them down, the ship had gone on to do a little star mapping of the planet's solar system. Uhura would check in on them every four hours and the ship would pick them up again in three days time.

So the two had beamed down very early this morning and set up camp close to a good sized lake. Jim had communicated with the ship that all was well and the location very beautiful. The area was open and lush with grassy fields. Trees were scattered across the plain, gradually melting into a forest on the horizon. A soft, cool breeze came up from behind them, flowing across the grass and making it wave, just like it had on the long ago prairies of Earth; only instead of amber, this grass was dark green, light green, lime green, every green imaginable. It looked like something out of a fantasy novel, whole area rife with natural beauty. McCoy had happily wandered around scanning the indigenous rocks and plants inputting data in his padd. Jim had voiced his desire for a swim in the large pristine lake by their camp. Bones had tested the water carefully, several times in fact, and finally satisfied, had declared it safe. Jim had gone for a swim, skinny dipping just like when he'd been a child back in Iowa, when he and Sam would strip off all their clothes and fling themselves into the cool pond behind the farmhouse on a blistering hot day. The water here was just as cool and refreshing. Jim had swum laps for a while, then floated on his back, totally relaxed, content to do absolutely nothing. _Just what the doctor ordered_ , he thought lazily. Eventually, he had gotten out of the water and dried out on the sweet grassy area where they had pitched their tents. He was dozing on his stomach, his golden head on his crossed arms, when Bones, coming back from his plant hunting, looked down at the prone, nude, relaxed body, and said mischievously, "I hope there aren't any chigger-like insects on that grass." Jim had leapt up like a scalded cat, and Bones had killed himself laughing.

Three hours later, Spock had suddenly come on the comm to report that during their star mapping, their very sensitive long range sensors had identified a Romulan War Bird heading toward the solar system. Jim had ordered them to leave the area immediately, not to take the time to come back to pick them up until ship's sensors showed the Romulans had left this area of space. Under no circumstances were they to get close to, or engage with the Warbird. Jim had also ordered them not only to leave the solar system, but to go comm silent as well, so as not to give away their location to possibly listening ears. He and Bones would be fine for three days or four days. They had brought down plenty of supplies, so even if the ship had to stay away for more days, they'd be fine.

Spock had vehemtly protested, calculating that _Enterprise_ could return ahead of the War Bird by at least an hour, but Jim had said no. That was cutting it too close. Spock had reluctantly agreed with Jim's logic and so, despite the loud and vocal protests from the command crew, _Enterprise_ had departed. Jim and Bones had looked at each other and silently agreed that they had to move themselves to a more secure and secluded location, just in case the Romulans sent down a scouting party. Where they'd set up camp was out in the open, far too easy to spot by any kind of sensor scan or by a scouting party. Romulans were notoriously curious; if they spotted the planet, they'd come looking to see what they could find.

So they ate lunch, replenished their water supply from the lake, repacked their small two man tent, sleeping bags, waterproof floor tarp, and thermal blankets in their back pack, put the rest of their gear in their field pack, cleared away any signs that anyone had ever been there, and started walking. Jim hoped to find some kind of sheltered area, preferably some large rock formations, a cave, or at least a hidden sheltered spot within a two or three hour hike from their water source. So far after hiking for two hours, they'd had no luck. Jim glanced at Bones again.

"Let's sit down for a minute, Bones."

"Jim! I'm fine, we can keep walking," Leonard protested.

"Maybe you can, but my shoulder is killing me, the strap on my pack is cutting into me even over my thick shirt," Jim groaned, lifting the pack off his shoulders.

"Hell! Why didn't you say so? Let me see. Lift up you shirt, Jim. Or better yet take it off so I can see better."

Jim obediently stripped off his thick denim shirt as well as his black undershirt. Bones saw that the tender skin of his right shoulder was red and angry looking from the chafing of the strap. "Jim," Leonard grumbled at him. "You should've said somethin' right away. You've really irritated your right shoulder, you've got blisters." He pulled out a salve from his field med kit and with gentle fingers, rubbed it on the tender skin of Jim's sore shoulder. The cool salve made Jim shiver, but the chafing and blisters instantly felt better. He sighed in relief. "Thanks, Bones. That feels better already."

Leonard inspected the pack. "Here's the problem, there's an extra rough seam in the wrong spot. When we stop, I'll wrap a piece of gauze around it so the seam is covered. Meanwhile, I'll carry the back pack and the field pack for a while; you carry the med kit and canteens. They're cross body, so you can put them over the other shoulder." He picked up Jim's large pack and the field pack and flung them over his back and shoulders. "Are you thirsty, Jim? Don't be stintin' on water now, we've got plenty."

"No, I'm good, Bones. Let's keep going," Jim used the field binoculars hanging around his neck to scan the area again. "I don't know how fast that Romulan War Bird is traveling, and we don't know when it'll starts to get dark around here, so I'd like for us to find some shelter soon."

They walked on for another hour, Jim scanning the horizon constantly, to look for shelter. He glanced at the sky to see how quickly the local sun was setting and estimated they had another 2 or 3 hours of daylight left.

"Jim, look!" Leonard pointed to an outcrop of imposing, large stones in the distance. "That looks like a possibility."

"Yeah, it does. Good eyes, Bones." Through the binoculars, he looked the area over carefully. "It looks like it might be a good place. Let's get ourselves over there and see if it will do at least for tonight."

They picked up their pace, and soon the tall, formidable rock formations came into view. Jim pulled out his phaser and checked that it was on stun. "Stay here for a minute, Bones. I want to be sure there aren't any of those indigenous wild animals or creepy crawly things on the rocks before we climb up there."

"Creepy crawly? That's very scientific of you, Jim," Leonard grinned. "We'll have to do better than that for our newly discovered planet report to Starfleet."

"I'll leave that in your very capable scientific hands, Doctor." Jim, nimble as a goat, began to climb the boulders and was out of sight almost instantly. Leonard tried his best not to worry at having Jim out of his sight. He hated to admit it, but being alone here gave him the heebie geebies. Soon Jim's sandy head peeked down from behind a large boulder, a sunny smile on his face. "It's fine, Bones. Come on up. There's a cave up here, not quite as deep as I'd like, but it will do fine for shelter and it'll keep us well hidden. These large boulders will also obscure any sensor scans, the cave is hidden behind them; you can't really see it unless you're practically on top of it." He grinned. "We'll be protected, out of sight, and snug as bugs in a rug."

Leonard scrambled his way up the stones and handed Jim the two packs. Jim clasped his wrist with strong fingers and pulled him up over the last few boulders.

"Thanks, Jimmy. Must admit I'm tired now and the temperature is starting to drop fast."

It was true. With the sun beginning to set, it was getting much cooler, well on the way to being cold.

"Sit down and rest, Bones. I'll get us organized." It was still light enough to see and Jim looked around. "I think we're definitely going to need a fire," he said. "I'll find us some dry wood, the drier the better, much less smoke, although at night the smoke won't be seen and if we make the fire behind these big rocks it'll be harder to spot. You sit here, I'll be back in a minute."

"Just make it fast. I don't want you climbing over those boulders in the dark looking for firewood. Use your flashlight if you can't see...those Romulans are still pretty far away." Leonard pulled off the packs from his shoulders. "I'll get things organized here while you get the wood." They both felt a sense of urgency to get settled in before dark.

Jim hurried away. Leonard shivered; his shirt was not as thick as Jim's and it was definitely getting colder. He opened up both the back pack and the field pack, got out his extra shirt, a couple of ration bars, the instant coffee, their tea bags, sugar packets, their two collapsible cooking pots, their two mugs, the extra flashlight, the floor tarp, the two thermal blankets, and their sleeping bags. The small collapsible tent, their instant food, ration bars, their tools, their small lantern, and a few other things, he left packed. He looked around. True, the cave was not very deep, but it was roomy enough for the two of them and all their stuff. The floor was smooth and clean, with no animal droppings or bones on the floor which was a good sign. He was a little concerned about the large, wide mouth of the cave so before spreading out the tarp and sleeping bags, he walked outside until he found some large rocks. One by one he carried the heavy stones to the cave entrance and stacked them around haphazardly, obscuring the mouth of the cave even more. He looked up when he heard Jim coming back and hurried to meet him. Jim's arms were laden with good dry wood. He looked approvingly at what Leonard had done with the large rocks. "Good work, Bones. It's even harder to spot now. Let me get the fire started, you're cold. There's not much fat on those bones of yours." Jim laughed softly at his own bad joke, and Leonard elbowed him. Still grinning, Jim continued. "I scanned the area with the field binoculars, everything is quiet as far as I could see."

"Good. Let's hope it stays that way. I have no desire to get up close and personal with any Romulans." Leonard shivered. He was cold; his exertions had warmed him up temporarily, but now in the cooling dusk even with a second shirt on his thin frame he felt cold.

Darkness was descending quickly and Jim hurried to start the fire behind two of the large boulders just outside the cave. He grunted in satisfaction when the small fire blazed merrily. "Sit by the fire, Bones, so you can warm up a little," he said, looking worriedly at him. "I'm going back the way I came to see if the fire is visible." He walked a good distance away from the fire and soon came back. "No glow and no smoke," he said in satisfaction, sitting down close to the fire next to Leonard.

Leonard had set some water to boil in their water pot, "Tea or coffee?" He asked Jim.

"Tea," Jim said. "Some sugared hot tea sounds good right now. Let's save our coffee for the mornings. Good thing we thought of bringing extra water," he said. "We've got a lot of instant meals and Fleet emergency ration bars," he said. "We've also got coffee, tea, and instant soup. We're fine with the water we brought for right now, but tomorrow I'll scout around for another water source. The lake is too far to walk back to safely and also too exposed. When I was gathering fire wood, I noticed there's a lot of green stuff growing just outside the perimeter of this rocky area, so there has to be another source of water somewhere close. We can always boil what we find if need be."

Leonard dug into the field pack. "Hmm. We have a second emergency flashlight, the lantern, and the light from our comm units, although tonight is probably the last time we should use them unless we know for sure the Romulans aren't around."

"Tomorrow I'll make a fire pit, Bones, so we can stay warm and heat water for tea, coffee and instant soup. I'll also scout away from the cave with the long range binoculars." He frowned. "I'm glad big rock and mineral formations like these mess with life signs because our first priority is to find water. I think it'll be fine to look around in the morning, but I don't want to chance going too far outside this rocky ridge in the afternoon."

"Jim, I'm sorry I've done so little to help you. I took the same survival classes you did, it's just that I never thought I'd ever have to use any of that information. Somehow, I thought I'd always be in a Sick Bay or in a hospital on a planet somewhere. To tell you the truth, I've forgotten a lot of it; most of it really," Leonard admitted, looking a little shame faced.

Jim just smiled at him, his eyes reflecting the gold of the fire. "You don't ever have to worry about stuff like that, Bones," Jim told him. "I just figured you'd be with me on any away missions and so you are."

Leonard swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. To think that Jim had thought about his welfare like that, touched him deeply.

He cleared his throat and scooted up to the fire to make tea for both of them. The wind had picked up and it was definitely colder. The hot tea would be good; warm them both up. There were sugar packets along with the tea in the field pack, so he added the sugar and carried the collapsible mugs back to Jim. He walked inside the cave to find Jim unpacking the rest of their stuff, their sleeping bags and the thermal floor tarp were now spread out on the cave floor.

"It's definitely getting colder," Jim said absently. "We'll be nice and warm with the sleeping bags and the thermal blankets though, so no problem." He looked up at Leonard's troubled face. "You look worried, Bones. Don't be. We'll be fine, I promise."

"I'm not worried, Jim. I'm just mad at myself...seems like you're doing all the work around here."

Jim smiled up at him. "We all have our individual skills; this just happens to be one of mine. Just remember this, Bones, I couldn't do even a quarter of the stuff that the brilliant Dr. Bones McCoy does in Sick Bay."

Leonard could feel a faint flush in his cheeks at Jim's praise. "Well, just so you know, there ain't anyone I'd rather be stranded with on a God forsaken planet than you, Captain James T. Kirk."

"Thanks, Bones."

They didn't talk much after that, sharing a warm comfortable silence as they drank their hot tea and munched on their ration bars. They sat at the mouth of the cave, shoulder to shoulder and watched the water boil. Bones tossed in the same two teabags into the pot again. His mama always said the second cup of tea from the same tea bag was the better one. He counted the time in his head for the second steeping so it wouldn't get bitter. He stirred in the sugar and handed the mug to Jim. He felt rather than heard Jim sigh.

"What are you thinkin' about, Jim. Are you worried about the ship? 'Cause if that's it, stop worrying. Spock will take good care of her and they're far, far away by now."

"I know, Bones. I'm not really worried about the ship. I'm just wondering if we're going to have visitors or not, and if we are, how long will they stay around. I'm also wondering if we should try to gather more provisions just in case. I doubt that the War Bird would get here before tomorrow evening. The thing I'm not sure about is their long range sensors, should we take a chance on heading out too far from the cave and these rocks to look for water."

"Well, if we're gonna' do it, let's do it early in the morning. They'll still be far away even at warp speed, and I'm pretty sure their captain is like any other captain of any ship. He'll wanna' see results and long range sensors that far out don't give you much information at all, do they?"

Jim grinned. "You're absolutely right, Dr. McCoy. I've been stewing about it off and on since we got here, and I should have just talked it over with you. We'll scout around tomorrow morning, very early; hopefully we'll find some water and maybe even some edible fruit or something. You can check what we find with the medical tricorder right?"

"Sure can. Don't worry about that, Jim. I'll make sure it's safe, and like you said, we can always boil the water if it's not pure like the pond water was."

"I was thinking about another alternative, Bones. The pond is about two hours away, less, if I jog part or all of the way there. I could go by myself while you stay here and guard our stuff. I could get the water and probably be back in three hours."

"No, Jim. I'm sure you could get there and back in that time, but I don't like the idea of us being separated like that. We gotta' stick together. If you're determined to go, we'll go together. I can jog as good as you; I always keep up with you fine during our runs on the deck and I never skip my conditioning training."

"Yeah, you keep up fine, Bones. And I have to admit I don't really like the idea of leaving you here alone."

"I don't like it either, Jimbo." He shivered. "Let's go inside the cave. It's getting a lot colder."

"Let me put out the fire first. Tomorrow after I build the fire pit, maybe it can stay lit and it won't be seen, that's if the Romulans do show up." Jim doused the fire with the dregs of their tea and pulled out the infrared binoculars. He jumped up on one of the taller boulders and scanned the area again; nothing stirred, it was eerily quiet and pitch dark. There was a moon; two actually, one very small, more like a large asteroid, and one much bigger. However the larger moon must be in its waned cycle right now since it was not visible.

They stripped off their outer shirts, spreading them out to air, then put the thermal blankets over the sleeping bags too and got in them. They were very well insulated and warm. Starfleet issued survival and camping gear was the top of the line, the best that credits could buy. Leonard sighed happily as warmth seeped all through his body chasing away the chill. "Good night, Bones," Jim murmured, already close to sleep.

"Night, Jimmy."

Leonard didn't go to sleep right away; he lay there thinking, listening to Jim's regular soft breathing. Things could be a hell of a lot worse, he thought. He was very lucky that he was stuck in this place with Jim, because Jim could turn his hand to anything, not just stuff he learned in Starfleet, but stuff he'd learned growing up on the farm in Iowa. He could build a fire pit, blaze a trail through unfamiliar terrain, shoot wild critters if he had to, scavenge with the best of them, and outwit and outfight Romulans when called upon to do so. This, this was a walk in the park for Jim, especially compared to some of the things he's been through on missions and personally, too. _So, Leonard,_ he thought to himself, _you'll just have to put on your big boy britches and be a lot more helpful; braver, more intrepid, and most of all more supportive of your Captain and best friend._ With that thought, he finally fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 2**

" **They also serve who only stand and wait."**

 **John Milton**

Spock turned the Captain's chair away from his survey of the bridge personnel. Everyone was quiet and busy at their assigned tasks. He had just returned from the transporter room where the Captain and Dr. McCoy had beamed down to the class M planet of the system Perseus. The planet had no other designated name, it was the second planet of the star system Perseus, orbited by two moons, one very small, one large, but as yet none of the solar system planets had been named. He made a notation in his padd that the command crew and Stellar Cartography would have to meet to name the planet before they left the system. Naming planets was always a very tricky business. There had to be extensive research of the entire quadrant to discover if the proposed name was already in use; it also had to be appropriate in most, if not all, Federation languages, and it had to pass muster with Starfleet Stellar Cartography back on Earth.

"Mr. Sulu, bring the ship down to sub light speed as soon as we enter the outer solar system."

"Aye, Sir."

Spock pressed the chair button. "Stellar Cartography?"

"This is Stellar Cartography."

"Lt. Bashir, we are entering the Perseus outer solar system. Notify the department to begin star mapping the area in two minutes, mark."

"We're ready, Mr. Spock. Two minutes, mark." He could hear excited voices in the back ground. As much as Spock had tried to inculcate calmness and serenity into the department (which was under his responsibility as head of Science) Stellar Cartography inevitably became extremely excited when they had new star mapping to perform. The Captain had laughed when Spock had told him about this behavior. "It's harmless, Spock. Let them be excited about their jobs. There isn't any loss of efficiency in the department is there?"

When Spock had told him there was not, the Captain had replied. "Then leave them alone. I like to see enthusiasm in all the ship's departments. They love their job and that's what I like to see. If they have fun doing their job, all the better."

So Spock, although dubious that "fun" was conducive to efficiency in any department, had left them alone and he no longer tried to curtail their excitement.

Spock turned to address Lt. Uhura. "Lieutenant, notify the Captain that star mapping of this solar system has begun. Also, tell him that it is a far more extensive solar system than we anticipated, but we should be able to get the task done in the three days allotted to us before we return to pick up them up."

"Yes, Sir." She toggled her comm button and spoke softly into her switchboard. He saw her smile and nod. "The Captain says they're setting up camp, Mr. Spock. They found a large pond for swimming, and Dr. McCoy is already scanning the indigenous plant life. He says it's a paradise down there."

Spock nodded as he reflected that _Enterprise_ had been to several "paradise" planets, and none of them had proven to actually be so. He hoped this one proved to be a different and better experience for the Captain and Dr. McCoy.

The Captain's yeoman came in with the daily Beta and Gamma ship reports; he looked them over carefully, signed them, and returned them to her. "Please file them, Yeoman Rand." He checked in with Mr. Scott who reported that the impulse engines were "purring like kittens." Spock sighed for the vagaries of the vocabulary in Mr. Scott's oral reports. He knew the Captain enjoyed listening to the metaphorical language in that soft Scottish burr, but Spock found it nonsensical and inexact. However, he had long ago resigned himself to it after trying many times, and without the slightest bit of success, to change Mr. Scott's vocabulary in his reports.

Suddenly, Ensign Chekov, consternation on his face, turned to face Spock. "Sir, my readings are showing a ship at the outermost extreme range of our long range sensors. It's wery far away, but I have checked and there are no other Federation wessles scheduled to be in our wicinity."

"Put it on the screen, Mr. Chekov, and magnify to maximum. The large front view screen enlarged the image and there was silence on the bridge. Sulu drew in a breath. "Mr. Spock, I believe that is a Romulan War Bird," he said peering closely at the configuration of the ship on the view screen."

"I believe you are correct, Mr. Sulu. Heading, Mr. Chekov?"

"It appears that they're heading in this direction, Sir. Directly in to the Perseus solar system."

Spock sighed silently. Of course they were. He swiveled his chair. "Lt Uhura, please get me the Captain."

"Yes, Sir."

"Kirk here. What is it, Mr. Spock?" The Captain sounded a little irritated. Spock concluded that since he and Dr. McCoy had only been on the planet for less than two hours, the Captain was not pleased at having his camping trip interrupted so soon.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Sir."

He heard the Captain's sigh across the miles. "It's all right, Spock, what is it?" he asked again.

"Our long range sensors and Mr. Chekov's keen eyes have sighted a Romulan War Bird in route for this solar system. It is still extremely far away, Captain. If we did not have the type of highly sensitive sensors that we have, we would not have seen it. I anticipate we can return for you and Dr. McCoy in ample time before the Romulan War Bird enters the outer rim of the solar system, if that is indeed their destination."

There was silence for a moment on the other end of the comm. "Negative, Mr. Spock. We can't take a chance on their intercepting the ship. You know our orders; under no circumstances are we to engage with any Romulan ship if it can be avoided...and avoid it we must, at all costs."

"Yes, Sir." Spock knew that since their highly sensitive covert mission when he and the Captain had stolen the cloaking device from the Romulan Commander, tension between Starfleet and the Romulan government was at an all-time high. A war between the Federation and the Romulan Empire was an outcome every one in Fleet feared and no one wanted. The fallout from that mission had been severe, and all Starfleet ships were now under orders to avoid, at all cost, any confrontation with Romulan ships.

"If you come back to pick us up, the War Bird's long range sensors will certainly detect the ship. I want you to take the ship out of the solar system immediately, Spock and only at impulse speed. After you leave the Perseus system you can go into warp. I want _Enterprise_ as far away as possible from the War Bird. Bones and I will be fine. Keep a sharp eye on the long range sensors and if the Romulan ship detours away from the solar system you can come back for us right away. If you see the ship is heading this way, just stay away."

"But Captain, we cannot just leave you and Dr. McCoy on the planet. I will speak to Mr. Scott and we will return for you at warp 8. That will give us a larger amount of time before the War Bird enters the solar system."

"No, Spock. We can't take that chance. What if their sensors spot the ship and they increase their speed as well? Also, if you come for us at warp speed, you know that _Enterprise_ will leave a warp trail and the War Bird captain would know a Fleet ship was in the vicinity. They'll want to pursue; you know that the Romulans are itching for any opportunity to engage a Fleet Starship in battle. Leave now, Spock. That's an order."

The Command crew, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov and even Mr. Scott down in the engine room, had protested, but Jim was adamant. "You have to get out of Dodge, Spock, and the sooner the better. Also, after the end of this transmission, we are going comm silent, and on board the ship as well, until you're far away from the solar system. We're taking no chances that the Romulans might accidentally overhear one of our transmissions. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Captain. Quite clear. May I inquire, Sir, what you and Dr. McCoy are going to do?"

There was another silence on the other end of the comm. "We'll be fine, Spock. We'll pack up our tent and steal quietly away to another and much more secluded location. Bones and I brought plenty of food and supplies. We'll be fine, don't worry about us. When you are absolutely sure the War Bird has left the area, you can contact us again. Just get going. Kirk out."

The Command crew eyed each other. So that was that. Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy would stay on the planet and hide. None of them were happy about leaving them behind, but orders were orders and the Captain had been very clear. They had to leave, and leave now.

"Mr. Chekov, plot a course out of the solar system, and make very sure it is a course as covert as possible."

"Yes, Mr. Spock."

Spock toggled his comm.

"Engineering, Scott here."

"Mr. Scott as per the Captain's orders, we are to proceed away from this solar system at impulse speed. After we are well away from the solar system, we are to go to warp and get as far away from the Romulan War Bird as possible. Mr. Chekov is presently plotting our course. Under no circumstances are we to attract the attention of the War Bird."

"Aye, Mr. Spock. We'll be quiet as the proverbial church mice. Scott out."

Another Scottish saying, apparently. Spock made a mental note to look that one up.

"Spock to Stellar Cartography."

"Stellar Cartography. Bashir here, Mr. Spock."

"Mr. Bashir, I am sorry to interrupt your star mapping, but we have been ordered by the Captain to leave the solar system. It is my hope that we can resume the star mapping at a later time. Please inform the rest of the department."

"Yes, Sir. It is disappointing, though."

"Indeed it is, Mr. Bashir. Spock out."

Spock turned to Uhura. "Please give me the All Call, Lieutenant."

She nodded. "All Call is yours, Mr. Spock."

"Attention all hands." Spock's baritone voice rang out throughout the ship. "Upon orders from the Captain, we are leaving the solar system to avoid confrontation with a Romulan War Bird. Also, upon orders from Captain Kirk, we are going comm silent. Messages will be delivered by hand or word of mouth until we are well away from this solar system. I will notify all hands when internal communication may be used again. Spock out."

Chekov turned to Spock. "I have our course plotted, Mr. Spock."

"Send it to me, Mr. Chekov." He looked at the readout on his chair to see the course. "Excellent Mr. Chekov. Mr. Sulu, take us out of the solar system, impulse power only, half light speed, slow and steady."

"Aye, Sir."

Sulu's sure hands, at the navigational controls, turned the great ship around to go back the way they had come. Once they were far enough away from the larger planets, Chekov had plotted a course that would take them behind and away from the solar system. When well clear, they would increase to 3/4 light speed and then go into warp.

The massive ship glided gracefully through the giant planets at, what the crew inside the ship perceived, was a very slow speed. There were several planets to navigate the ship through, as well as moons, and an asteroid belt. Spock, in the Captain's chair, took note of the richness, diversity and density of this solar system. He hoped when the Romulan crises had been resolved that they could spend some time exploring here in this solar neighborhood. That was, after all, why they were out here.

"We're out of the solar system, Mr. Spock," Chekov announced some time later.

"Very good, Mr. Chekov. Mr. Sulu, Increase speed very gradually. I want us well away from the system before our going into warp. There should be no indication that _Enterprise_ was ever here.""

"Aye, Mr. Spock."

"Ensign Reardon," he said to the young man manning the Science station in his stead. "Take the lift to Engineering and inform Mr, Scott, that we will go into warp in 30 minutes, mark. Tell him we will then want a gradual increase of warp speed until we reach warp 4; we'll proceed at warp 4 until we are 6 parsecs from the Perseus solar system. Mr. Sulu will then bring us to a full stop. Go quickly, Ensign."

"Yes, Sir," said Reardon, and headed to Engineering at a fast clip.

They all sat waiting until Reardon came trotting back. "Mr. Scott says, the engines are purring like kittens, Sir. Warp engines are ready from your mark."

At the 30 minute mark, Spock gave the order. "Mr. Sulu, take us to warp."

"Aye, Sir." And suddenly, the front view screen showed the familiar sight of the color particles created in the sub space field that surrounded the ship, as space around them bent and became distorted by the creation of the ship's warp bubble.

"Warp one," intoned Chekov, and the soft hum of the warp engines could be heard as they engaged. "Warp two..." He looked over to Spock. "Warp three...We are now at warp four, Sir."

"Full stop, Mr. Sulu."

"Aye, Sir. Full stop."

"Mr. Chekov, long range sensors at maximum. Lt. Uhura stay alert for any anomalous transmissions."

"Yes, Sir," came from both officers.

Spock opened his hand held communicator. "Mr. Scott we will stay stationary for the next three days or four days depending on the status of the War Bird. Please monitor the engines closely. We may have to leave this area of space very quickly."

"Aye, Mr, Spock."

"Give me All Call again, Lt. Uhura."

"Yes, Sir."

"All hands, this is Mr. Spock. Your hand held and corridor communicators may now be used. Under no circumstances will any other type of communication be allowed until further notice. Spock out."

The ship hung becalmed in space, far enough away, Spock hoped, to avoid any possible detection or contact with the Warbird. His thoughts went to the Captain and McCoy. By now, if he knew his Captain, and he did, he and McCoy would have already found suitable shelter to avoid detection by either a landing party or Romulan sensors.

Jim was well versed in all aspects of survival methodology in all different types of environments. Spock was certain that he and McCoy were somewhere safe and sheltered waiting for the ship to return to pick them up. Now, Spock thought, his challenge was going to be two fold; keeping the crew occupied as the ship sat becalmed, and making sure that morale remained high. No one was happy that the Captain and Dr. McCoy had been left behind on the planet. _Enterprise_ was renowned throughout the Federation for never leaving one of their own behind. That this was very temporary, still did not sit well with the crew, and most especially the Command crew, and truth be told, it did not sit well with him either.

It would be a long three perhaps four days, Spock thought. He was ill equipped to keep the crew morale high. Reassuring them that this was but a temporary measure taken only because of the Captain's direct order, would not be an easy task. They would wait the requisite number of days away from the solar system, scan diligently for the War Bird and return as quickly as possible for their Captain and CMO. Already, he could discern a higher level of anxiety and stress in the Command crew. He must try to mitigate their anxiety by keeping them busy. Vulcans were not prone to worry and anxiety, it was not logical to wish for things that could not be changed. However, that did not mean that he did not feel a measure of concern for their current status and for the Captain and Dr. McCoy alone on the planet.


	3. Chapter 3

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter Three**

 **"Praised be my Lord, for our sister water."**

 **St. Francis of Assisi,**

 **Canticle of the Sun"**

Jim woke up as faint light touched the mouth of the cave. He was closer to the entrance, so he could tell it was just breaking dawn. He looked over at Bones who was still sound asleep, snoring softly. He'd go take care of bodily functions then start on the fire pit. Bones could sleep a little longer. After he dug out the fire pit, searching for water would have to be their first priority. He climbed out of the warm sleeping bag as quietly as possible, picked up the canteen to take with him and a couple of the sanitizing wipes. He'd make coffee for them as soon as he got a good fire going. He also put the binoculars around his neck so he could check out their immediate surrounding and all the areas much further away. He glanced at his communicator, it remained silent. Nothing from the ship, so the Romulans must still be traveling toward this solar system.

Jim sighed as he walked. Why couldn't anything ever be simple...it seemed that _Enterprise_ existed within the bubble of Murphy's Law. If anything could go wrong, it did. Spock would say that was illogical, but what he really meant was that that kind of thinking was nonsensical. One of these days Jim was going to have him run stats to determine just how often things that could possibly go wrong for them, did go wrong. If the stats checked out like Jim thought they would, Spock would have to eat his "illogical."

After taking care of physical necessities, Jim came back to the cave, pulled out their small power shovel from their field pack and turned it on. It made short work of the hole he needed for the fire pit. There were plenty of flat rocks to line it with so he got it done quickly.

"Mornin' Jimmy," Leonard said, standing at the mouth of the cave. He looked around for a private area.

"Our make shift latrine's a bit further out behind those rocks," Jim pointed. "Afraid it's small, but it's just the two of us, and I wanted it as unobtrusive as possible. I haven't seen any animals around, but we have to be careful. Be sure you cover everything thoroughly afterward."

"Thanks, Jim." Leonard took his personal necessities, a couple of wipes, then disappeared behind the rocks. When he came back, he looked down at what Jim had done. He'd dug a real fire pit, lined it with rocks then lit a fire. He'd also assembled some kind of tripod out of the wood he'd collected so he could hang one of their collapsible pots from it. "There'll be boiling water for coffee in a minute, Bones. We'll have ration bars for breakfast, save the real food for lunch and supper. Is that okay with you?"

"Jim." Leonard looked admiringly at Jim's handiwork. "Whatever you want to do is fine with me; but hey, you're doin' all the work around here, that's not right. I don't want to be an albatross hangin' around your neck. I wanna' do my part. We're in this fix together."

"Bones! You could never be that. You'll be doing more plenty soon. To start with, how about fixing that area on the back pack for me, then I'd like for you to look at my shoulder. It's still feels a little sore."

"Let me look." Jim stripped off his undershirt while Leonard brought out his Med kit. Jim's muscled shoulder was still pink and slightly irritated, but the blisters were gone; it looked much better. "I'll use the salve one more time, that should do it. It'll be right as rain tomorrow," he said spreading the salve with cool fingers. Jim shivered at the touch, but his shoulder felt better immediately. "Thanks, Bones."

Jim got out the instant coffee essence, put a spoonful in each mug, then added the boiling water, stirring it with his spork. They sat down to eat the ration bars, drink the hot coffee and plan their morning.

"Okay, Bones, as I see it, our first priority is to find water. We'll take the two extra collapsible emergency containers. They each hold three gallons, so that's 6 gallons plus what we already have in the canteens. We'll search in concentric circles around the area where things look the greenest so that way we don't miss anything. I think we're safe to scout around for several hours. Somehow, I don't think the Romulan Warbird was in a big hurry, because there's nothing much in this quadrant. Why speed when you have no particular destination in mind? It saves the engines to temper your speed when you're patrolling. So let's fold up the sleeping bags and the thermal blankets, put them away in our packs and be on our way. We don't want to attract any animals around here."

"Whatever you think best, Jim." They quickly took care of housekeeping chores, then Jim doused the fire. "Jim, Let me have that backpack real quick. I'm going to wrap gauze around the strap, sewing it down real tight. I'll carry it until your shoulder is completely healed."

Jim watched in fascination as Bones wrapped medical gauze around the strap seam, then with needle and suture thread from his med bag, sewed the bandage gauze tight around the strap. His hands worked quickly, deftly, making sure, tiny, back stitches.

"Bones, I didn't know you could do that, that doctors still did that?"' Jim asked, hazel eyes wide.

"Jim! Of course we do. What would happen if regenerators ran out of charge in the middle of an operation or we were stuck somewhere without one. All surgeons have to be proficient at sewing. There, that should do it," he said, showing Jim his neat work.

"Thanks, Bones. It looks great." Jim fingered the gauzed area that covered the seam. It was tight, smooth and neat. "Perfectly done, Doctor." He stood up. "Shall we go? We'll use the binoculars to check the horizon, too. It seems strange to me that we haven't seen any animals anywhere, or even any type of birds or insects. "

"They're probably more afraid of us than we are of them. Imagine this...they've never seen any sentient beings before, probably only other small animals, birds and insects; we're big, tall, bipedal, alien. Of course they're hidin' from us," Leonard told him.

"Good point." Jim took the lead, Leonard put the back pack on his back, checked that his medical bag was across his shoulder, his phaser and communicator clipped to his belt, then followed Jim.

"Bones, let me have the Med bag since you've got the back pack," Jim said stopping suddenly. He lifted the binoculars to his eyes as Leonard pulled the Med bag off himself to hand it to him. "Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse," Jim murmured, quoting the ancient 'Night Before Christmas.' Thank goodness for small favors. Let's go find us some water."

Dawn had given way to full daylight with the night's coldness receding to a welcomed warmth. They went slowly down the hill, and started walking close to the promontory of massive rocks surrounding the cave, circling it, slowly widening their circle away from it. As they drew away the rocky terrain slowly began turning into, first, tall amber grass, then greener grass, then scrub brush and finally trees. The trees had thick trunks with large canopies meeting overhead. The leaves looked familiar, but yet not quite Earth like. Every bush, plant and tree was almost, but not quite, like the ecology they were familiar with on Earth. The sunlight cast a golden sheen over all the plant life, bringing out the different hues of green; forest, lime, loden, and celery, all lush and very beautiful.

Jim noticed Bones looking at the plants in fascination. "I wish we had time for you to study more of them, Bones, but we don't. Maybe when _Enterprise_ comes back, you Sulu, and a few others can gather more samples."

"My initial scans looked very interesting, Jim. I've isolated and identified medicinal properties in several species but we need further research to be sure. There's so much to research because this planet is an enigma. Why is it that only this area of the planet has flora and animal life?" He sighed in resignation. "I know we don't have the time right now, but some of these plants look really promising for further research. Even here in this Eden, we have the proverbial serpent in paradise, that Romulan Warbird," he groused.

There was a movement behind a copse of smaller trees, and Jim held out an arm to stop Leonard from moving. He put a finger to his lips. They crept forward making no sound, phasers in hand, until they were directly by the tree line. Jim motioned for Leonard to stay put. He crouched down on his hands and knees, crept forward silently, and parted some branches so he could see. The sight stopped his breath. It was a cat-like creature, midway in size between a large house cat and a bobcat. Her fur was dark sable and her large feline eyes were a bright clear green ringed with black. She had three kits with her, and they were drinking water at a small stream. The kits were a lighter sable with white stripes, and they had the same green eyes as their mother. Jim motioned for Bones to creep forward quietly. Leonard set down the backpack, got on his hands and knees and crept to Jim's side. He too drew in a silent breath. The young kitten-like animals were playing: tumbling, and gamboling under the watchful eye of the mama. One of the kits, the most aggressive one, bit one of the other kittens in the ear and it squawked in pain. The mama growled then came forward; she put out a paw and swatted the aggressive little kitten. He looked at her, a deeply shocked expression on his little face. Bones put a hand over his mouth to stop from laughing and Jim grinned widely. The mama uttered a sound, much like a mild roar, and the three kits came quickly to stand around her. Apparently playtime was over. She herded them gently into a line and they left.

Jim and Bones sat down on the grass, letting out their collective breaths. "That was amazing," Jim said softly.

"Cutest thing I've ever seen," Leonard said. "Appears that mamas are the same all over the quadrant, discipline must be maintained in the ranks," he laughed softly.

"Bones, we've got water!" Jim said triumphantly.

"We sure do, and not far from us too," Leonard leaned over to get out his tricorder from the medical bag. "Let's go check it out."

He picked up the backpack while Jim pulled out his phaser, set it on stun and they made their way to the edge of the clearing. Leonard scanned the water. "It's just this side of potable, wouldn't really hurt us to drink it," he said. "Not as clean as the pond we camped by, probably because animals come to drink and bathe in it, but we can use it for cooking for sure, boil it for drinking if we have to," he said in satisfaction.

"That's great, Bones. It's a big load off my mind to find water...and the animals, although I'd hate to kill one if those beautiful creatures for food."

"God, no, Jim! We have plenty of food, and I hope we won't be here that long!"

Jim looked at his chronometer. "Let's get the water back to the cave. I'd like to make one more trip here for more if we can find somewhere to store the water. That would give us another 6 gallons, 12 in all plus the two canteens. That's plenty of water, even enough for a sponge bath and shaving if we're careful."

"That's good, Jim. I don't want us to get so ripe that we'd stink up the sleeping bags or the cave. I know Fleet has some biodegradable soap and bathing wipes in the pack, but fresh water is always best."

"It's going to be slow going, Bones. Three gallons each will get very heavy going back."

"We can manage it. You're very strong, and though I'm skinny, I'm wiry." They filled up the two collapsible containers to begin their walk back to the cave. It was awkward and heavy going carrying the two containers filled with water. It took much longer to walk back; but they managed. They set the containers outside the cave door then sat down to rest . "Bones, the tent material is waterproof. What if we tear a couple of large pieces from the tent floor to make bags to store the water, we have the tarp to use as waterproof flooring. You could sew up the sides," Jim said.

"I know something better and it's just as water proof as the tent material, " Leonard said. "Surgical glue will seal the sides real tight, no possible leaks. I have plenty in the Med kit, it comes standard issued with the all the field med kits. A little goes a long way too, we can spread it out real thin; it'll work great. You'll see."

Jim looked admiringly at him. "Bless Starfleet Medical! Great idea Bones, let's get to work." Jim used his boot knife to cut off two large pieces from the tent floor handing them to Bones. Leonard folded each of the pieces in half to glue the sides together. Then he glued the tops together, leaving only a five inch hole at the top to pour the water in. After the glue bonded, they tested the makeshift water bags by pouring in a little water, not a drop leaked out. Leonard grinned at Jim triumphantly. Jim then cut two more thin strips to tie up the top openings. "That'll do it. Let's go get the rest of the water." He looked at his chronometer. "It's almost noon and I'm getting antsy about that Romulan ship."

They hurried back to the stream and filled up the collapsible containers again. At least this water they could leave stored in the two containers. They came back to the cave as quickly as they could, storing all the precious water inside at the back of the cave. No use taking chances or tempting fate by leaving the water outside where animals or Romulans could find it.

"Let's eat, Bones. Real food this time. I'll get a couple of the ready meals out while you make us some more tea. I don't know about you, but I could use a little rest after lunch. Hauling 12 gallons of water is hard work."

Jim went to the backpack and got out a couple of the flattened ready meals. Fleet prided itself on the quality of their survival meals. All one had to do is press the two ends together. The container expanded heating the food at the same time. These meals had saved many lives since their invention in the late 21st century. They could be transported very easily, they were well balanced, nutritious, and they tasted pretty good too. They sat down to eat drinking their tea. Jim sighed. "It feels good to sit and rest for a little while. I feel a lot better now that we have water available."

"Yeah me, too, Jim." He glanced up at Jim who was standing up again. Jim!" He protested. "Light somewhere and rest, you make me more tired looking at you going up and down like a yo yo."

"I'm just going to scan the perimeter, Bones. Be right back." He pulled the binoculars off his neck then scrambled up to the highest rock formation. The long range sensitive field glasses let him see pretty far, but again there was nothing to see. "Good, " he muttered to himself. He frowned as he looked up, then scrambled quickly back down. "Bones those black clouds forming to the north of us look like heavy storm clouds. We could be in for a bad storm later today. If it gets bad, this cave is pretty shallow and it gets pretty cold in the evening." He looked at the tent. "We need to set up the tent at the entrance pushed up tight against both sides of the cave, the tent opening facing in; it should provide us with some extra shelter. We'll anchor it down in case it gets windy. What do you think?"

Bones looked up at the sky, at the threatening clouds. It caused a deep foreboding sensation in his chest. "I think you're right Jim. We certainly don't need to get soaked as well as cold. Exposure isn't good, and we sure didn't being any cold weather or rain gear. Let's see if your tent idea will work." He looked down at the nice fire Jim had made. "It's a shame about the fire though."

"We'll have to take the wood in the cave to keep it dry, otherwise we won't have a fire tomorrow morning. Let's do that first." They carried the wood Jim had gathered, stacking it as far back in the cave as possible; they also put the backpack, field pack and Med kit on top of the stacked wood. Jim looked up at the swiftly darkening sky, already seeing flashes of lightning in the distance as he quickly gathered their collapsible pots and mugs to bring them inside the cave too.

Bones was already opening the small two man tent. It was a simple matter of moving the open tent to the mouth of the cave and more or less wedging it in at the cave entrance with the tent door facing the inside of the cave. Jim anchored it down, and for good measure weighed down what remained of the tent floor with some heavy rocks. Then they placed the two sleeping bags half in and half out of the tent to give them more room to spread out. The cave was a little crowded with all the stored water, the neatly stacked wood, the field and back packs, the Med kit and their cooking equipment, but everything was safely inside the cave now. They had just finished when the first flash of lightning lit up the cave, and a booming clap of thunder followed; then the rain started beating down hard against the tent. The wind picked up speed and the temperature began to drop.

The two men sat inside the tent with their feet and legs tucked inside the sleeping bags. Their sitting bodies and spread legs provided more weight to the tarp that was the tent floor. The tent swayed a little with the force of the wind, but the Starfleet issued tent was indeed water proof. The amount of rain that seeped in along the two sides of the cave was minimal since they had wedged the tent so tightly at the entrance. Jim turned to Bones and leaned in to be heard above the sound of the storm. "Snug as can be," he smiled. "Are you cold, Bones?"

"Nope. This is great, Jim. We'll ride out the storm in fine shape just like this."


	4. Chapter 4

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 4**

 **"The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep**

 **Moans round with many voices.**

 **Come, my friends,**

 **'Tis not too late to seek a newer world."**

 **Alfred Lord Tennyson**

 **On the Ship**

Spock sat in the Captain's chair immobile. It was almost the end of Alpha shift when he noticied the strange reluctance of the Command crew to finish their work in order to hand off shift duties to the Beta shift crew. He knew they were anxious about the Captain and Dr. McCoy. It had not sat well with any of them to leave them behind on the planet. They knew that if one of them had been down planet, Jim would never have left them. He would have found a way to go back for them, to somehow get them back on board. Unfortunately Spock had not had time to weigh the pros and cons, nor figure out the odds of success, nor give that information to the Captain before he gave Spock his orders. That had been the end of their discussion; once the Captain gave his orders they had no choice but to obey.

He glanced at Chekov who had not taken his eyes away from the long range sensors. "Report Mr. Chekov."

"There is no sign of the Romulan wessel, Mr. Spock."

"Thank you, Mr. Chekov. The Beta shift crew will be arriving soon, please brief your reliefs thoroughly before you leave, Mr. Chekov, Mr. Sulu; you too, Lt. Uhura," he said turning towards her.

"Mr. Spock," Chekov said. "I would not mind staying a few more hours to monitor the sensors."

"I wouldn't mind either, Mr. Spock," Uhura said. "I can scan for any transmissions, also I can also boost my power modules for extra distance."

"I can stay too, Mr. Spock." Sulu said nodding in agreement with Chekov and Uhura.

"That will be not be necessary, but your willingness to do so is commendable. I understand that we are all...concerned (he did not say worried) about the Captain and Dr. McCoy. However, I am quite confident about the Captain's tactical and survival skills. He will make sure, that should the Romulans decide to send down a landing party, or just decide to scan the planet, he will find a way to stay hidden to avoid detection and keep himself and Dr. McCoy safe. If not for himself, then surely for the doctor's safety, Spock thought. Jim's priority was always, first and foremost, to keep his crew safe and Spock had no doubt the Captain would be even more proactive and protective than usual when it came to Dr. McCoy's safety.

Three pairs of wide eyes looked at him dubiously and Spock's lips twitched in spite of himself. Uhura voiced their doubts. "Mr. Spock, you know the Captain wouldn't hesitate to throw himself into danger to protect Dr. McCoy and even a shipload of Romulans wouldn't deter him."

"You have a valid concern, Lieutenant. However Captain Kirk assured me that he and Dr. McCoy would, as he put it, "hunker down and stay put" until certain there were no Romulans on the planet. With that we must be satisfied until such time as we know for certain the Romulan Warbird has left the vicinity."

"Sir, if we're this far out, how will we know?" Chekov asked, his young face troubled.

"We will not know, Mr. Chekov, but after three days, we will venture close enough so that our long range sensors will be able to detect if the Warbird is orbiting the planet. If so we will retreat once more. I have already asked Mr. Scott to begin preparations to boost the long range sensor modules to give us the extra distance readings."

He stood when the Beta shift reliefs came in. He would provide the example to the three by preparing to leave the bridge to his relief. Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov also stood, albeit reluctantly, when their reliefs came to stand by them.

The four exited the bridge and silently made their way to the mess. They picked out their food selections, making their way to their usual table. Sometimes Spock ate with the Captain and Dr. McCoy, sometimes only the junior officers ate together, sometimes they all ate together and sometimes one of the senior officers would eat with them. It often depended on shift schedules and preferences; it was a very informal arrangement, but it worked nicely for all of them.

"After my meal, I will go to Engineering to confer with Mr. Scott about the sensors," Spock told them, eating his salad. "He assured me that it was not an onerous process to enhance the modules."

Uhura nodded. "I thought I would do the same with the communication modules tomorrow morning, Mr. Spock. I can boost them at least another 15-20 percent, not indefinitely, of course, but for quite a long time should we need the extra range."

"A sound idea, Lieutenant. We must do all we can to assure that should the Captain wish to communicate with us, regardless of our extra distance to the planet, we will be able to hear him."

The three nodded solemnly and finished their meals.

...

 **On the Planet**

Jim and Bones could feel the tent swaying back and forth with the force of the wind and hard rain that buffeted it. The storm raged, the wind moaned, the thunder rolled loudly, and the lightning flashed bright and blinding. The idyllic peaceful paradise that was this planet, apparently didn't extend to the wild elemental forces of nature when there was a rain storm. Jim and Bones scootched closer to each other in order to hear themselves talk.

"I wonder if every time it rains here it's this fierce."

"I don't know, Jim, but this is pretty bad," Bones responded, shivering. He winced as the bright flash of lightning and the particularly loud roll of thunder sounded outside. "That was a close one," he muttered. "It's gettin' damned cold too, much colder than it was last night, and we sure don't have our fire."

Jim was cold too, but he'd just had an idea. "Bones, let's open the sleeping bags and use them as blankets to put over us. We'll use one to cover our shoulders and the other one to cover our legs and feet." Leonard nodded, his teeth now chattering from the cold. Jim pulled his legs out of his sleeping bag to pull it wide open, revealing the insulated plush interior. Leonard did the same with his sleeping bag. Jim scooted closer to Leonard, shoulder to shoulder, draping one of the sleeping bags over their legs and tucking in the sides, so they weren't sitting directly on the stone floor which was now freezing. The other he draped over shoulders, chests, and stomachs. Leonard gave a sigh of relief as warmth enfolded him.

"Better, Bones? Are you warmer?" Jim looked worriedly at the doctor. At least his teeth had stopped chattering.

"Yeah, Jim. Much better. It's a hell of a lot warmer like this." They had to speak loudly to hear each other over the roar of the hard rain and thunder.

"Good thing we're high up. We'd have been in bad shape if we'd stayed camped by the pond. Probably the tent would've blown away and we would've been washed away by now." Jim grinned at the doctor. "Another good thing is that with the strength of this storm we can be sure that no Romulans will venture down planet. If their sensors were already scanning while they orbited the planet, the force of this storm would be readily apparent.

Bones' blue eyes brightened at that, and a slow grin lit up his face too. "There is that." He tilted his head to listen. "The storm seems to be moving away from us. The thunder is less loud now. I wonder if all the storms on this planet are this fierce, or if it's just in this hemisphere where the flora and fauna are. This type of weather pattern seems extreme to me; it reminds me of the hurricanes that came in off the coast into Georgia."

"Yeah, those were pretty bad." He tilted his head to listen. "It does seem to be moving away from us which is good, because I'm getting hungry again. As soon as the wind lessens we can move out of the tent to grab us some of the instant meals." They sat quietly listening as the wind died down and the thunder receded, until Jim leaned over the edge of the tent and peeked outside. It was still raining hard, but it was definitely dissipating. "Once the rain and wind stop we can eat," he told Bones. He sat silent thinking for a moment. "Bones, I think we should leave the tent up this way at night. It offers some extra protection from the cold and dampness. Also if it rains again it'll keep the cave dry."

Leonard sighed, basking in the warmth he was under. "Good idea. Hypothermia is a real possibility in this type of weather. This tent is amazin'; remind me to send a thank you to whoever thinks up this survival gear. They did a great job."

Jim laughed. "I'm sure they'd appreciate it. Fleet personnel just takes all its gear for granted until they have to use it. Then afterwards they never think of giving feedback about it."

"Well I'm sure gonna' do it, if we get out of this, of course."

"Bones! Of course we're going to get out of this. We've been in a lot worse fixes than this. Or have you forgotten all those times?"

McCoy huffed. "I wish I had, but no I haven't forgotten. It's just I've never had to deal with any Romulans before...they don't exactly have a reputation for being 'nice' people, do they now."

Jim looked somberly at McCoy, his hazel eyes bleak. "Bones, Romulans have a very strict code of honor; in their own way, one as strict and rigid as Vulcans. Their warrior code is millennia old. What Spock and I did, stealing the cloaking device, manipulating the Romulan Commander, is considered beneath contempt; not the actions of true warriors. They're a very secretive society and we don't have a lot of intel on them, but we do know about their warrior code. Fleet's actions lost them respect, Spock and I lost respect, the Federation lost respect. I know it had to be done; that cloaking device technology that we acquired for Fleet, has already saved a lot of lives." He sighed wearily. "But to them it was a contemptible and dishonorable act." **1**

Leonard had noticed that sometimes the missions that Jim undertook weighed heavily on him. That one had obviously done so. "Jim." Leonard put a comforting hand on the broad shoulder. "You and Spock did what you had to do, what you were ordered to do. Just don't ever ask me to put pointy ears on you again, one pair of elf ears on the ship is enough for me." That got a grin out of Jim, and Leonard patted himself on the back for that one.

"Listen," Jim said.

"I don't hear anythin'."

"Exactly. The storm seems to have passed. Shall we take a look?"

They unwrapped themselves from the warmth of the sleeping bag, and stood. Leonard stretched his cramped muscles and Jim bent to remove the large stones from the tent tarp floor to set aside. They would need them again tonight when they set the tent up again in the cave opening. Jim wanted to be on the safe side; who knew what the weather patterns were on this planet. He popped the tent closed and they walked outside. The sky had cleared, the strong rain had washed the boulders off and they gleamed softly in the starlight. There was still no moonlight, so the moon must definitely be in its waned cycle. Jim looked at the fire pit. The hole was completely filled with water, but he judged it would drain off soon enough and it'd be usable again by tomorrow morning. He brought the binoculars up to his eyes, climbed carefully on top of one of the slippery wet rocks and scanned the perimeter and the horizon. There was absolutely nothing to be seen in any direction.

He turned to see Bones looking anxiously at him. "Nothing is stirring, Bones, just as I expected. Now that the storm has passed we should have a peaceful night, no Romulans will come calling tonight."

Leonard nodded. He looked around at the mess the violent storm had left. While they had been snug in the cave the wind had blown so hard that it had carried debris, small branches and leaves into the nooks and crannies of their rocky promontory. The landscape bore the same look Leonard had seen in old historical photographs of the aftermaths of hurricanes and tornados. Guess it was a good thing there were no people on this planet, he thought, and hoped that all the small creatures who lived here had found shelter somewhere.

Jim jumped down from the rocks. It was definitely colder. He shivered a little; he was missing the shirt that he'd loaned Bones. They both needed something hot to take the chill off. "Let's eat, Bones. I'm hungry." He looked at his chronometer. It was the start of Beta shift on the ship, so definitely time for dinner for him and Bones. "We'll open a couple of instant meals and I'll heat some water with my phaser, it won't use much power. It'll just take me a minute and some hot tea will be good with our meal."

Leonard was already taking off Jim's heavy shirt. "Here, Jim, you need this back. I'll put on my other shirt on top of this one. It's damn cold now. You heat up the tea to drink with our meal and we'll huddle under the thermal blankets. They're not as warm as the sleeping bags, but they'll do until we settle in to sleep."

Jim sighed taking back his shirt knowing better than to argue. Bones was always at his most stubborn when he was in his "taking care of the Captain" mode. And, Jim had to admit, he was cold.

They went back into the cave to eat. Leonard took out two of the instant meals while Jim poured water from their canteens in the mugs. He powered up his phaser on its lowest setting as Leonard put the two tea bags in the mugs and counted out the proper steeping time. He pulled out the tea bags to reuse for their second cup. "I found some packets of powdered milk in with the sugar packets if you want any."

"No thanks, Bones, but tomorrow morning I'll want some in my coffee. I do enjoy coffee with milk occasionally. Ma says that Pop always drank his coffee with milk, so of course when I was in my teens and starting drinking coffee I had to have it exactly the same as Pop's. Sam too." He smiled softly, thinking back to those two young boys who wanted to emulate that good man who had been such a wonderful father.

They sat in companionable silence under the thermal blankets, their small portable lantern casting a soft dim light around them, enjoying the hot meal and tea. "This tastes good, Bones. I wonder what it is."

"Tastes like chicken," Leonard said, laughing softly at the old joke.

Jim grinned, finished his meal and stood up. "I'm going to take a good look around and visit the latrine."

"Take the flashlight, Jim, and the sanitizing wipes. I'll go after you come back. I think tomorrow right after breakfast we should have a fire, take a bath and shave too. We've got plenty of Fleet biodegradable soap in our field pack. We're on an alien planet, who know what kind of contaminants are in the dirt, rocks and plant life."

"Bones, you have the tricorder, you've checked everything at least twice, and Spock's sensor scans said there was nothing noxious or dangerous on this planet."

"Yeah, well, sensors and tricorders have been known to be wrong, as we've found out plenty of times on away missions," Leonard told him darkly. "We need to keep as clean as we can and do it while we're sure there are no Romulans around."

"Okay, Mr. Mom. I admit a bath, even a sponge bath, sounds good. It should be warm enough in front of the fire," Jim said, heading for the latrine. "I won't be long, Bones."

Jim came back quickly. "Nothing at all is moving out there. The storm clouds have totally disappeared." Jim handed Bones the flashlight and a sanitizing wipe packet. "Be very careful where you walk. It's pitch dark out there."

"Don't worry. It's getting damn cold now, so for sure I'm not gonna' linger out there."

Jim went back inside the cave and set about organizing things for the night. He put what remained of the tent floor tarp back down on the cold floor, then he put the thermal blankets on top of that. Those things together would create a good barrier between the cold cave floor and the sleeping bags. First rule of survival in the cold; conserve body heat, and don't let your core temperature get low.

He and Bones should really be writing notes about this planet for their report to Starfleet. It appeared that the day time temperatures were pleasant, but at night the temperature dropped drastically and it got bitterly cold. Also, the violence of the thunder storm had been extreme. They would have to investigate if these extremes were the norm all over the planet, or if maybe the planet's rainy season had started. And just what season of the year was it here? A lot of questions, but no answers, he thought as he looked around the cave. As soon as Bones got back, they'd open the tent again to block the entrance of the cave. It would help to keep the cave a little warmer and they should be warm enough inside the tent in their sleeping bags.

Jim considered using his phaser to heat up a couple of rocks to generate some heat, but he was loath to use it and deplete its charge unless absolutely necessary. They might need it later on, and at least they also had Bones' phaser as well as their two boot knives. Tomorrow morning they'd have a sponge bath, use a little more of their soap to wash their underwear, which thank goodness dried very quickly, and maybe shave too. They'd also do some reconnaissance. The Romulans were probably close if not already in range of the planet. He and Bones would have to stay close to the rocky area to confuse their sensors.. He looked up at the stars and wondered how his ship was doing. By now they were out of range and far out of reach of the War Bird. He could hear Bones' booted steps coming back, so he put thoughts of the ship out of his mind to focus on the here and now. It was time for them to settle in for the night. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

 **1 The Enterprise Incident**


	5. Chapter 5

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter** **5**

" **The longer it takes me to track you down,**

 **the more hope you have of escaping."**

 **Peter Watts, Blindsight**

At first light, Jim and Leonard woke up at the same time. It was bitterly cold outside of the sleeping bags. Jim drew his arm out of the toasty sleeping bag and felt his nose. It was icy cold.

"Don't even think about getting up yet, Jim Kirk. It's too damn cold. Let the sun rise a bit longer." Leonard yawned. "I sure wish we'd brought our jackets, who woulda' thought this paradise of a planet would get so bitterly cold at night."

"Well, we have no way of knowing if this is Winter, Fall, or the rainy season here, or what the year round temperature range is. Maybe it's like this all the time, or only at this time of its solar year; who knows. We didn't really have time to find out much about the planet, just that the daytime temps are perfect for camping." He stretched his legs inside of the sleeping bag. On his shipboard bed he usually slept sprawled, but in the sleeping bag he'd curled up into himself to conserve the warmth inside the bag. What he needed was a good run to stretch his muscles; Jim was not used to inactivity. Leonard looked at him knowingly. "Settle down, Jimmy. It's too damn cold to do much without having warmer clothes and you're not gonna' catch pneumonia just 'cause you're restless; not on my watch."

Jim huffed a laugh. "You know me too well, Bones McCoy!"

"Yeah, well I should, since I've known you since you were a green Lieutenant serving on the Farragut."

Jim sighed, half in exasperation, half in frustration. "I just feel that I need to be doing something, Bones."

"We will, Jim. In a little while I'll help you with the fire pit; you'll start us a good fire and then we'll have some hot coffee, a delicious ration bar, and we'll go check out the perimeter. It's starting to warm up a little already." He drew out his padd from under the sleeping bag and made a notation."

"Bones! Are you working?"

Leonard nodded. "Notes. About this planet."

"Making notes about the planet? I was just thinking about that yesterday, that we should be doing that very thing. Lots of interesting things here...the flora, the fauna, the mama feline with the kits, the violent storms, the minerals that disrupt sensor readings in these rocks, the warm days the very cold nights."

"I have to. Spock's orders. That's why he sent me down here with you after all, you know."

Jim frowned. "You're here because I wanted you here, Bones. Camping is no fun by myself and you and I are the ones who love camping trips."

"Jim. You know that Spock don't know the meanin' of fun. I had to convince him that finding medicinal plants down here would be a good thing, and I had to make this a fact-finding Mission, or you would've had to come by yourself."

Jim's face flushed with irritation. "That wouldn't have happened, Bones. I know Spock is your immediate supervisor and I appreciate that you're trying hard to have a medicinal and planetary report for him, but one way or another you would have come camping with me, even if there wasn't a single damn medicinal plant to look at and check out down here."

Leonard grinned at him, blue eyes mischievous. "Spock wouldn't have liked that, Jim. Coming here just for fun? 'Taint logical."

Jim laughed, his usual good humor restored. "As a doctor you could have said, 'Mr. Spock, humans need a break from stress now and then, and since we're both certainly human, the Captain absolutely insists that I go with him. End of story! Come on, let's get that fire going so we can have breakfast and take our baths."

"You go get a good fire started Jim. I'll get out our soap and wipes, our other t-shirts and briefs, then I'll come help you."

They got out of the warm sleeping bags and took turns at the latrine. Jim checked the fire pit...it was almost dry now that the sun had come out. He thought the dry wood they'd stored would start well enough and it did; the fire quickly began to burn, hot and bright. He poured water into one pot to make coffee, pulled out the sugar and milk packets and filled both mugs. He also got the ration bars out. "Here you go, Bones, good hot coffee and delicious ration bars."

"Thanks, Jim. Here's all the stuff for our bath. Let's use the wipes first and get most of the grime off us then we can finish off with the soap and hot water."

"I also put the other bigger pot to warm, Bones," Jim said stripping down quickly. It was still chilly so he and Bones made quick work with the sanitizing wipes, running them all over their bodies, working efficiently. They followed with soap and water, using the sanitizing wipes as washcloths. Jim threw out the first dirty water and they rinsed off the soap with the second pot of heated water. Jim saved their rinse water to shave with. He got out his boot knife and lathered up; he ran the soapy cloth over his chin and upper lip and with the razor sharp boot knife began to shave. Leonard did the same. After they finished Jim grabbed their dirty underclothes and put them in the pot with the soapy water and swished them around vigorously. Bones brought the other small pot now filled with cold clean water and rinsed their underwear. Their outer clothes needed a brush more than an actual wash, but that could wait until later. They spread their underclothes on a large rock where the full sun would dry them quickly.

Jim sighed happily. "It sure feels good to be clean," he said. "Bones, we might want to see if we could wash our pants and shirts in the stream, it's clean enough for that, that's if the Romulans haven't arrived and sent out a scouting party. It's close by and it wouldn't take long to get there and back. We could also refill one of the canteens too. We've got another set of clean clothes though if we can't do it. We'll decide after we do a reconnaissance this morning to check around."

They cleaned up the area around the fire pit, put their underclothes in the cave to finish drying, then got ready to scout the area. Jim checked his phaser, made sure his boot knife was back inside his boot, and Leonard did the same. Jim slung the binoculars around his neck, Bones grabbed one of the canteens along with his Med bag, and they headed out. Jim decided that they'd stick close to the rocky area and move out very carefully, slowly, going around the rocky promontory in a circle.

"Bones, let's walk as close together as possible. If they're scanning it won't look like one person walking, just an unknown larger life form emanating a heat signature."

Leonard looked dubiously at him. "Really Jim? Is that what our _Enterprise_ sensors see when we're scanning a new planet?"

"Sometimes. And sometimes sensor readings tell us a lot about a new planet, but Spock and Chekov are highly skilled at reading scans, and our Fleet sensors are excellent. A lot depends on the type of sensors, the terrain, the kind of life forms on a planet, how skilled the persons reading the sensor scans are, the planet's atmosphere, the mineral deposits; there are a lot of variables that affect readings." Jim looked up at the position of the sun. "We better get going. I don't want us to be out too long."

They walked side by side close together and climbed down carefully from the cave height, Jim on high alert, his eyes constantly scanning back and force. Leonard too, felt his senses heighten as a surge of adrenaline hit his system. _Fight_ _or_ _flight_ _surge_ , he noted clinically. At the bottom of the rocky promontory, Jim stopped and used the binoculars, first scanning the sky then all around the perimeter. Everything seemed quiet and peaceful. There were deep puddles of standing water from the rainstorm, but things were drying quickly under the now warm sun.

Unfortunately, there was a large area of open space between the rocks and the wooded area. Yesterday, certain that the Romulans were still far away, the open area had not been a concern. Today was a different matter. Jim held up a hand to stop then looked around, above him, and to the distant woods. It would take about ten minutes to walk across the open area. "Bones, I think it'd be better for us to run across the open area. Being out in the open like that makes me nervous."

"Then why go in there, Jim?" Leonard looked around. "We're not gonna' see anything more or better from being in those woods, and in fact, if the Romulans are here and patrollin' by foot or in a shuttle craft, how would we get back here without them seein' us?"

"You raise a good point, Dr. McCoy." Jim grinned at him. "Quite logical in fact," he teased. "See that's why I keep you around, to keep me from jumping headlong into places I shouldn't."

Leonard snorted. "You listen to me about one in ten times, Jim."

"Well, Bones, this is one of those times. There is in fact no good reason to go back to those woods except to wash our clothes and that's not urgent. So let's sit for a while and relax. It's peaceful, quiet, and warm." He opened his communicator to check for a message, and flipped it closed. Nothing.

"Nothin' from the ship?"

"No, nothing," Jim said. "You know what that means, Bones?"

"Yeah, it means the War Bird is still comin' or it's already here."

Jim sat up suddenly from his relaxed position against the warm stone. "Bones, I'm an idiot. Get your medical tricorder out and see if you get any life form readings other than ours?"

Leonard pulled out the delicate instrument and waved it around. He squinted at the readings. "I'll have to get farther away from the rocks, Jim. They're really interfering with my readings. Something in these minerals is scrambling the readings."

Jim grinned triumphantly. "That's great, Bones! If you can't get any reading close to these rocks then neither will the Romulans. And no, you're not going out away from these rocks. Here we stay, safe from Romulan sensors and scouting parties."

"Yeah?" Leonard grinned too. "Well...that sure makes me feel a whole lot better." He lay back curving his body against the large warm stone. He raised his face to the sun. "Mmmm, this is nice, Jim. First time we've had a few minutes to relax since we left the pond. We did come down here for a little R and R after all. Well, you did; me, I came to gather plant samples for the Science labs...those were my orders which I haven't followed much. So I guess you could say I've been playing hooky."

"Hmm," Jim murmured eyes closed head back against the rock wall. "You're on a field trip with the principal, so you can't get into any trouble with the vice principal."

"Jim," Bones asked suddenly, worriedly, "if the Romulans won't be able to detect us with their sensors, how will the _Enterprise_ find us when it comes back?"

"Once we're sure the Romulans are gone, the ship will hail us. Our communicators work fine, and we can always go back to the pond where we were beamed in, away from the rocks. Don't worry about that, Bones. The ship will find us...Scotty, Chekhov, and Spock are the best. They'll find us."

"Alright, Jim," Leonard relaxed, reassured, closing his eyes again basking in the warm sun light. They stayed that way for a while enjoying the peace, sunshine and tranquility. For a change there was no place either of them had to be, no paperwork, no red alert, no Sick Bay emergency, no demanding and unreasonable Admirals.

Finally Jim stirred. "Let's finish going around the perimeter and then we'll head back."

Leonard opened the canteen. "I'm getting thirsty in this sunshine," he guzzled a little water then handed Jim the canteen. "Drink, Jim. We gotta' stay hydrated."

Jim nodded and drank. The water was still cool and refreshing from being in the cold cave overnight. "Delicious! I was more thirsty than I realized." He handed Bones the canteen, and suddenly held up a hand, lifting his head to the sky. "You hear that, Bones?"

Far in the distance, a faint, a very faint thrum of an engine could be heard. "I hear it," Bones said, alarm flashing across his face.

"We have to hide, Bones, and right now!" Jim whispered urgently. "It's a shuttle engine...could be the Romulans doing reconnaissance or maybe one of the _Enterprise_ shuttles if they know the Romulans veered away from the planet. Come on, Bones let's move back, deep into the rocks where their sensors won't be able to scan us."

They scrambled away from the rock wall, and began to climb back up through the rocks, their boots slipping in their urgency to get higher, going deeper into the rock formations; Jim reached for Bones' hand and gripped it hard. They absolutely could not get separated. The shuttle sound which, at first, had been very faint was now definitely louder, getting closer. Jim stopped, breathing harshly and looked around. Bones too, was taking in great gulps of air. "We have to hide, Bones." He shoved Bones roughly into a shallow crevice bordered by big boulders and with a narrow ledge overhead. They scrambled down into the crevice and hunkered down breathing heavily. The quiet, warm stones reflected back the sound of their labored breathing as they listened to the shuttle engine getting closer and closer.

Jim leaned in to whisper to Leonard, his warm labored breath tickling his ear. "That doesn't sound like one of our shuttles, the engine's too rough. Scotty would never allow a shuttle of ours to run with a rough engine."

Leonard nodded his agreement silently, his head cocked to listen.

The shuttle sounded closer and closer, and the two men held their breath to listen. The ledge obscured their view, but they could hear it as it passed almost directly overhead of them. It was traveling very slowly, leisurely, obviously on a reconnaissance mission and in no great hurry. It flew slowly over the outcrop of rocks, then turned and veered away from the rocky area towards the woods. As the noise of the engine grew further away, Jim peeked out and dared a quick look toward the tree line. His keen eyes could see the rear of the shuttle; definitely it was not one of theirs. The Romulans had arrived. The shuttle disappeared into the woods and Jim scrambled quickly out of the crevice pulling Bones with him.

"Let's go, Bones. We have to hurry and get back to the cave before they decide to come back this way."

They climbed quickly, steadily making their way back to the cave, their ears straining to catch any sound from the possible return of the shuttle.

"Thank the good Lord for Romulan poor shuttle maintenance," Leonard said softly, "or we might not have heard it in time to hide."

"You can say that again." Jim breathed easier, the cave area was now in sight. He scrutinized it carefully and objectively. There was absolutely no indication except the fire pit that anyone, including him and Bones, had ever been there, were already there, or would be there. There was also no sign of the cave unless you were right in front of it. They both breathed a sigh of relief to have reached their small sanctuary.

"Okay, we know they're here now, so extra vigilance is called for." Jim looked around. "Bones, we need some stones big enough to cover the fire pit when we're not using it," he said. "I want it to look like it's part of the landscape. Same with the latrine. You take the fire pit and I'll take care of the latrine. It's going to be inconvenient to remove the stones, but it'll be safer in the long run. What do you think?"

"I think you're right, Jimbo, so let's get busy before they come back." Leonard looked critically at the cave entrance. A few more stones by the opening would hide the entrance even more. He searched until he found some and placed them haphazardly by the entrance. If it got very cold again tonight they'd have to move them to open the tent at the cave opening for extra shelter against the bitter cold, but in the morning the stones would come in handy in covering the entrance again. He found three good sized slightly flat rocks to cover the fire pit. He'd just finished when he heard Jim coming back.

"The latrine's taken care of," Jim said. He looked approvingly at the extra stones by the cave entrance and the new rocks covering the fire pit. "Good, Bones. Once it gets dark, we can uncover it and light a fire safely." He raised his head. "I can hear the shuttle again. Quick, let's head for cover; get in the cave." They quickly scrambled in, one at a time into the cave. From the inside, Jim reached out and pulled one of the stones closer to the entrance and then the other. The rocks blocked most of the sunlight so the cave was much darker. They sat back and heard the faint sound of the shuttle engine coming back from the woods.

"Jim!" Leonard whispered frantically, feeling his side. "I left my Med bag right by the cave entrance. I set it down to pick up the stones! It's just sitting there against the wall. How could I have been so stupid?"

"Hell Bones! What if they spot it? They're too close, we can't take a chance of going out to get it! They'd spot us right away." Jim moved one of the stones at the entrance and peeked out. He could see the med bag clearly, it was close, just out of reach. It's brown leather cover stood out against the grey stone wall. He thought quickly. "Quick, Bones, hand me three or four rocks." Leonard scrabbled around the floor, feeling for stones. He grabbed the first rock he could feel and handed it to Jim. Jim scooted to the entrance, stuck out his head and arm and lobbed it gently toward the bag; the stone landed right in front of the bag. "Another one." He tossed the second stone and it landed squarely on the top of the bag. He could hear the shuttle engine getting closer. "One more, Bones, quick!" He tossed the third stone and it landed to one side of the bag. "Last one." He had to throw this one so it would land on other side of the bag. He hefted the stone once, twice, took a deep breath and tossed it. It landed perfectly. The bag was covered. Jim leaned back away from the entrance, breathing heavily. Just in time. The shuttle was making a pass over their rocky hill. He scooted back hastily, reached out and put back the stone that covered the entrance.

They sat perfectly still, hardly breathing in the dark as the shuttle made its slow pass over them and finally heard it leaving the overhead area. Jim had pulled out his phaser just in case.

"Jim. I'm sorry, that was so incredibly stupid of me. I cain't believe I did that. I could've gotten us both killed!" Leonard groaned.

"Don't, Bones. It was an accident. You just forgot, because you were carrying those big stones. We're fine. Everything's fine."

"No thanks to me," Leonard said miserably. "That sure was quick thinkin' Jim! Where'd you learn to throw like that?"

"I was a Riverside Little League and then Pony League pitcher in my misspent youth. Started pitching at age 5 because Sam was a pitcher. He started teaching me way before I joined Little League." He smiled at the memory of 5 year old Jimmy and how patient Sam had always been with him in teaching him how to pitch. "Had a good arm by the time I was 7, so all my coaches made me a pitcher. Some things you just never forget."

"Well thank the good Lord for Sam and your misspent youth." Leonard beckoned outside with his thumb. "You think they're really gone, Jim?"

Jim moved the rock and poked his head out of the cave; with all that had happened, they had missed lunch, and now it was late in the afternoon. He wondered if it really was Fall or Winter on this planet because dusk was already falling and visibility was getting poor, but there was definitely no shuttle noise now. "I think so, Bones, but let's wait in here a little longer. It's starting to get colder already. I bet the Romulans go back to their ship tonight. It's too cold for them, they're like Vulcans in that way, they don't tolerate the cold well."

They sat there in silence for a while more. Leonard sighed as he followed Jim out of the cave. Jim looked up. There was a sliver of a moon showing, so it must be waxing now. There would be better visibility soon, so they had to be cautious about possible night shuttle flights if the Romulans decided to stay longer.

Leonard retrieved his med bag and checked it over carefully. Everything looked fine, he thought thankfully, nothing had broken; the Med bags were tough, made to withstand a lot of abuse on away missions. Jim crouched down and removed the stones from the fire pit, lighting the pile of kindling he'd placed in the pit. Soon the tinder was burning brightly, wisps of white smoke curling up and disappearing into the night. He glanced up at Bones' worried face as he tended their fire.

"Some hot tea, a good meal, and a nice fire, Bones. Then we'll make plans for tomorrow. I doubt the Romulans will stay around for long, there's nothing here on this planet that they could want. They're just curious. We'll be fine, Bones. Stop worrying, okay?"

Leonard looked into Jim's steadfast, fearless eyes. "Yeah, okay, Jim. I'll try."


	6. Chapter 6

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 6**

 **"No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may.**

 **We ourselves must walk the path."**

 **Gautama Buddha,**

 **"Sayings Of Buddha"**

Jim and Leonard sat close to the fire and ate their hot instant meals. It was definitely colder now, and the fire felt good. They had hot tea with their meals which helped to warm them up, but Leonard still got up to put on his second shirt over the one he was wearing. He also brought out the thermal blankets and draped one over Jim then over himself. Jim didn't seem to notice, he was deep in thought; his hazel eyes had a faraway look in them as he looked into the fire.

"Jim...," Leonard said softly; he got no response. "Jim!" He spoke a little louder.

Jim looked up startled. His eyes turned to focus on Leonard.

"Yeah, Bones?"

"What are you thinkin' about so hard?"

"I'm wondering what we could do if the Romulans decide to do a foot patrol in the area. I doubt if they'd want to search other parts of the planet...their scans probably showed them exactly the same thing ours did, that this area was the most likely to have any life forms. We would be able to hear a foot patrol coming from pretty far off, but with our Starfleet orders being what they are, we have to avoid a confrontation at all costs." He looked around; it was now too dark to see much. "I think if we use enough large rocks, we can completely hide the cave entrance and the fire pit, but we definitely need to find an alternate place to hide ourselves in case they head up here. We can't stay in the cave if it's completely blocked off. I'm sorry, Bones, but first thing in the morning, we'll have to climb higher to look for someplace to hide, at least temporarily if necessary. That hollow we used earlier is much too shallow; we'd be spotted right away."

"You really think that's likely, Jim?"

"I just don't know, but Romulans, as Spock and I discovered, are like Vulcans, notoriously curious, so we have to assume that they will patrol. Shuttle reconnaissance misses quite a lot on the ground. If I was the Captain, I'd order at least a cursory foot reconnaissance. I'd have the crew survey the area close up and personal in addition to the shuttle survey. It's a new planet after all. A shuttle survey is just preliminary; it's done to check for hostile life forms, native flora and fauna, the type of terrain, etc. Unless they've decided to check out another area on the planet after that huge storm to see if the weather is better somewhere else. Maybe they'll send another shuttle to another part of the planet." Jim sighed in frustration. "I'm playing a guessing game here, Bones," he told him, going over the most likely probabilities in his head. "Their sensors probably showed the same thing ours did though, that this area is the most habitable and scenic, that the rest of the planet is barren."

"So what's our plan then?"

"What? You're all ready for a plan? No grousing or grumbling, no cursing out the Romulans?" Jim asked, his eyes flashing with mischief. "Are you feeling alright, Bones McCoy?"

"Stop that, Jim Kirk. We gotta' do what we gotta' do to get out of this mess with our necks still on our shoulders."

"I know we do," Jim said, his smile fading. "But it's dark and cold so let's hunker down for tonight. Let me quote from your favorite vid, 'We'll think about it tomorrow'. Right now let's get ready for tonight. I'll cover the fire pit while you use the latrine, then I'll go and I'll cover it up afterward." He looked up at the sky, the stars were shining brightly. "At least it looks pretty clear in this area, although that area far west of us looks very cloudy to me."

Leonard squinted at the western sky. "Yeah, it looks like storm clouds are gathering in that area. Hope it doesn't blow this way, but we better get things put away just in case. I'll be right back." He got the flashlight and hurried off to the latrine while Jim put out the fire, covered the fire pit with the rocks, and emptied and collapsed the hot water pot. "Jim," Leonard said hurrying back, handing Jim the flashlight. "I looked around with the flashlight and saw some good size stones out by the latrine; we can bring them here tomorrow morning to cover the cave entrance some more."

"Good." Jim looked up. He could hear the faint rumble of thunder. "Damn it, looks like another storm is forming. Hope it's not heading this way. I wonder if it's a nightly occurrence on the planet; it may be that it's the rainy season after all, though it's strange that it only rains at night." He huffed an irritated breath. "I sure wish we knew more about the weather patterns here. It would make it easier to predict what the Romulans will do."

"I'll take notes," Leonard said testily. "But you need to hurry up. We need to set up the tent at the entrance and take cover in case that storm comes this way."

"I'm hurrying, Bones, but calm down it's still a long way away."

"Yeah well, it came up pretty fast last night, and it got damned cold too, so hurry up." He glowered at Jim.

"I'm going, I'm going."

Leonard went into the cave and got out the folded waterproof tarp, the tent, and the sleeping bags; he spread out the tarp on the stone floor. He went back by the fire pit to pick up the two thermal blankets and brought those in too. He looked at his chronometer. Jim should have been back by now, he thought anxiously. He stood outside the cave and peered out into the dark; the sliver of a moon cast very little light on the rocky promontory. "Jim," he called out softly, walking cautiously toward the latrine area.

"Bones," he heard the faint call. "I'm here, come help me."

"I'm coming, Jim, just a minute." He called out. He went back to the cave get the other flashlight from the back pack. To hell with saving the battery, it was too dark to walk without it. He made his way to the latrine. Jim was leaning against a large rock, his boot and sock were off and he was cradling his foot in his hand.

"Jim! What happened?"

"It was stupid! I was stupid, Bones! When I got here I turned off the flashlight to save the battery. I finished up and stepped backward right into a hole. Afraid my ankle turned; I think I broke something. It hurts like hell. I tried to walk on it, but I couldn't. Thought of hopping back, but I was afraid I'd trip and ruin the other ankle. I knew you'd come looking when I didn't come back soon enough."

Bones snorted. "Fool idea, hoppin'. Glad you didn't try it." He knelt down. "Hold the flashlight and let me take a look." With gentle fingers he felt all around the now purplish, swollen ankle. He sighed in relief. "It's not broke, Jim, but it's a real bad sprain. Let's get you back to the cave and I'll fix it."

"Damn, I'm sorry, Bones." Jim bit his lip in frustration. "We have to cover up the latrine, first."

"I'll do it, Jim; you just sit there and rest that ankle so you don't make it worse."

Leonard worked quickly covering the latrine with the big rocks until it was not dectable. A roll of thunder sounded overhead; it sounded much closer, and it was also getting colder. "Come on, Jim, grab your boot and sock and let's get going." He drew Jim's arm around his shoulder, put an arm tight around his waist and slowly they made their way back to the cave, Jim holding his injured foot up while leaning heavily on Leonard, and hopping on the other. Jim was heavy, Leonard thought, panting slightly with the effort of Jim's extra weight. He'd have to look at his meal card when they got back to the ship, he thought, although Jim didn't really look like he'd put on any weight; it was probably all muscle. Jim had been working out and running more so he could indulge his sweet tooth with an occasional dessert.

They stopped once so Leonard could rest and catch his breath, but not for long. The sound of the rolling thunder was getting closer and they sure didn't need exposure to freezing cold wind and rain. They both breathed a sigh of relief when they spotted the cave. Just in time too...a few drops of freezing cold rain hit them as they got to the mouth of the cave. "In you go, quick, Jimmy." Leonard set Jim gently down on the ground and gave him a small push to crawl in. "Sit on the tarp, and I'll get to work on that ankle in a minute." He followed Jim in just as a strong clap of thunder sounded overhead. The storm had arrived and the rain immediately began to come down hard.

Jim sat on the tarp breathing heavily. "Thanks, Bones. Let's rest for a minute, I'm okay."

"You just sit still while I get the tent set up at the opening, Jim. The wind don't feel as strong as last night's but that may change, so we'll be ready." He shook his head, "Fool weather," he grumbled. "That's all we need." He popped open the tent, went through the same procedure of weighting it down like they'd done the previous night, and then went to get his Med kit. "Get in the tent, Jim. It'll be a lot warmer," Leonard told him. "I'm also gonna put one of our pots right outside against the wall, we can gather a little more water that way. I'm sure it's clean, but I'll check it tomorrow with the tricorder."

Jim nodded and scooted silently into the tent; he was being awfully quiet, thought Leonard. "Is the pain real bad? I can give you a pain hypo if it's hurting too much," he told the bent, sandy head.

"It's not too bad, I can stand it, Bones; no hypo. I just can't believe I did something that stupid, and I've made all this a lot harder for you." Jim said, finally lifting his head, his hazel eyes filled with regret.

"Here, you hold the flashlight." Leonard said, getting out the small field issued regenerator from the bag and sitting at Jim's feet. "Don't fret about it too much, Jim. I did something dumb yesterday leaving my med bag outside, and you did something dumb falling in a hole, so I guess we're about even." He grinned up at Jim, strapping on the regenerator to his ankle with gentle fingers.

Jim chuckled. "Guess we are at that, but I'm the Captain; I should always avoid doing something stupid."

Leonard patted Jim's knee consolingly. "You're also human, although you do tend to forget that once in a while. There now, 30 minutes should do it. Then I'm gonna' put that ice cold rain to good use; I'll make a cold pack for you. You'll be good as new in the morning. I'm gonna' light our little lantern for a while I don't want to use the flashlights more than we have to."

Jim nodded. "Are you sure, I'll be able to walk, Bones? At first light we have to look for an alternate hiding place; the higher and less accessible the better, so I have to be able to climb."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Leonard said turning on the small lantern. "Now you just settle down. Let me put the thermal blankets down over the tarp and the sleeping bag to cover you while the regenerator does its work. I don't want you getting chilled on top of the sprain." He looked keenly at Jim's pale face. "Sprained ankles hurt like the devil, 'specially one as bad as yours, so I'm gonna' give you a mild analgesic, Jim, no arguments." He got out the hypospray and put the pain ampule in it and injected it in Jim's neck. He saw Jim's tense face relax as the pain medicine hit his blood stream almost instantly.

Jim sighed in relief. "Thanks, Bones. Guess I was in more pain than I realized."

"You're welcome," Leonard said checking the time. "Fifteen more minutes, Jimbo. Let me make the cold pack." He got out the gauze, folded it several times to make a padd; then with the suture needle and thread he stitched both ends together so the gauze would stay together. Jim's eyes never strayed from those deft hands as Leonard worked. "There," he said. "Now as soon as the regenerator beeps, I'll wet it with the cold rain and we'll put it on the ankle. The cold will feel real good and help whatever slight swelling is left." He pushed his shirt sleeve up and put his arm through the tent and the side of the cave. The rain was freezing cold against his arm, but he waited until the gauze pad was good and wet, brought it back in and wrung it well. He unstrapped the regenerator from Jim's ankle and pressed the pad against the ankle.

Jim winced at the cold, but settled back and sighed. "That feels good."

"It'll get the last of the soreness out and you'll be 100 percent by tomorrow morning. You'll be able to climb those rocks in fine shape." Leonard sat back and pulled the sleeping bag over himself. "Jim, why do you think the Romulans won't look for us up higher?"

"I don't know for sure. I'm hoping that they won't even come up here, but if they do and they don't find anything, I don't think they'll be curious enough to keep looking for nothing among these rocks. You're the psychologist, Bones, what do you think?"

"Well, you raise a good point there. Curiosity only goes so far, especially when there ceases to be any benefits accrued from that curiously." Leonard smiled. "You're a pretty good psychologist yourself, Jim. You wouldn't be such a great Captain if you weren't. You know your crew, know just how to get the best from them."

In the glow of the lantern Leonard could see the faint flush in Jim's cheeks. The Captain hated to be praised for anything that he considered was just doing his job.

There was a sudden fierce, malevolent bolt of lightning that struck right outside the cave. Jim and Leonard both jumped at the blinding flash of light and the deafening clap of thunder. A heavier torrent of freezing rain pelted the outside of the cave and the wind moaned and roared.

"Damn it, Jim! This planet has the freakiest weather I've ever seen. It's absolutely beautiful in the daytime and then this happens at night. No wonder there aren't any people who live here. I hope the animals on this planet live underground, safe from the fire and noise from heaven!"

"I wonder if this is seasonal or it happens all year round." Jim mused. "Just think, if we were still camped by the pond, we would've been toast by now, with _Enterprise_ out mapping the solar system not being able to beam us up."

Leonard's eyes widened in shock. "You're right. I hadn't thought of that. We would've probably been struck by lightning for sure. Never thought there'd be a ray of sunshine to us being stuck in a cave for several days."

Jim laughed. "I'm hoping that these storms discourage the Romulans from much exploration. They wouldn't want to be stuck down planet during one of these storms. This lightning would also play havoc with a shuttle's electronic system."

Another bolt struck very close by, and the sound of thunder was deafening. "You know, Jim," Leonard said when he thought Jim could hear him. "I've never been afraid of storms or thunder and lightning before, but this is enough to scare anyone." He scooted over to check Jim's ankle. "How's the ankle. Do you need another cold compress?

"I'm fine, and there's no way I'm letting you stick even a finger out in that weather. It's a good thing we have the tent at the entrance blocking the wind and rain, or by now we would have been soaked and freezing. It's cold enough as it is."

"Yep, for sure I'm writing a glowing thank you letter to Fleet about the tent and sleeping bags." Leonard shivered.

"You're still cold, Bones. Scoot in closer and we'll cover ourselves with both sleeping bags." Leonard scooted over closer to Jim. He could feel his body heat and it felt good. Jim's body always radiated warmth; Leonard, with not much fat on him, was always cold.

Jim glanced at him. "You know what would be real good right now?"

"Our own beds on the ship?"

"Well that too, but I was thinking of some hot tea. I can heat up some water with the phaser...it takes very little power and it would warm us up."

"That sounds good, but I'll get the tea, I don't want you on that ankle yet. You can power up the phaser to heat the water." He uncovered himself from under the sleeping bags, moving stiffly because of the cold and sitting on the stone floor. The tea, sugar, canteen, and mugs were all to hand and he brought them over to Jim.

"Get under the blanket, Bones. I don't want you to get chilled either." Jim powered up the phaser on the lowest setting while Leonard poured the water in the mugs, put in the tea bags, then Jim heated the water. It only took a few seconds for the water to heat, and soon the tea was steeping. Leonard poured the sugar in and handed his mug to Jim. He sipped from his own. The warmth of the tea was bliss going down, warming his whole body.

Jim breathed deeply, inhaling the fragrance of the tea and feeling its warmth. "This hits the spot." He tilted his head to listen; the rain had slightly diminished in intensity and the lightning and thunder had lessened. The storm was lasting longer than last night's, but at least he was sure no Romulans were out right now. He flexed his ankle. It felt good as new. "Bones, my ankle feels fine now."

"Let me check it." He ran the tricorder over Jim's ankle and nodded satisfied. "It's healed, Jim. You'll be able to climb fine tomorrow. Just don't overdo it. Your boot will give you good support tomorrow, but you know after a bad sprain, it's all too easy to re injure the ankle, especially climbing over rocks."

"I'll be more careful. I was careless today, and saddled you with having to take care of me."

Leonard snorted. "As if I don't do that anyway, every other week, seems like. It is my job after all, so don't you worry your head about it."

Jim shifted restlessly under the weight of the sleeping bags. It was still bitterly cold, but they were going to have to move soon, they needed to get ready for sleep. He wanted to get started at first light looking for an alternate hiding place if the Romulans decided to explore this area on foot. He sighed. The Admirals' orders of absolutely no contact with the Romulans were proving to be difficult to carry out. All of Fleet's Starship captains' hands were tied, while the Warbirds' captains had no such constraints; on the contrary, they were itching to engage a starship in battle. It was a notch on any Romulan Captain's belt to take on a Federation Starship, whether they bested them or not, hardly mattered. It showed Warrior courage to do so.

"The storm is passing over us. Do you want to go ahead and get ready for bed? We need to be up and away at first light. We'll use my phaser in the morning to heat the water for coffee and eat our ration bars and then be on our way. That way we won't have to uncover and cover the fire pit, we'll just put the extra rocks at the cave entrance."

Leonard nodded. "Yeah, we might as well turn in. It'll be warmer under in the sleeping bags and the thermal blankets, it's still damn cold."

Jim looked worriedly at Bones. It was cold, but it seemed that Bones was feeling it a lot more than Jim was. He just hoped Bones wasn't coming down with something. "Tell you what, Bones. We'll zip the two bags together and sleep right next to each other. We'll generate more body heat that way. We'll put both thermal blankets on top of us." He looked at Leonard's thinner shirt. "You want to exchange shirts? I'm not feeling the cold as much as you are." He smirked. "Guess this is one time you won't yell at me for weighing a little more than I should."

Leonard snorted. "Any excuse, Jim Kirk; and, no I'm not gonna' take your shirt, but sleeping right next to each other is a good idea. You just sit there and rest that ankle a little more while I get us organized. Let me get the extra water." He pushed the side of the tent over and grabbed the pot. It was full to overflowing, and he poured it into one of the canteens.

"Bones!" Jim protested. "Let me help. It feels a lot better, no pain at all."

"You sit. I'm not takin' any chances. Tomorrow you're gonna' be on it a lot." Leonard opened both sleeping bags, zipped them together and folded them in half, so there was a warm cushion between their bodies and the cold stone floor. Then he put both thermal blankets on top of the sleeping bag. "Okay, Jim, in you go, be careful with the ankle, don't jar it, it's still healing internally. You get yourself comfy and then I'll get in."

Jim sighed, but did as he was told. It wasn't worth an argument with the overprotective doctor. He took off his boot and then wiggled in carefully so as not to dislodge the thermal blankets. "Okay, your turn."

Leonard pulled off his boots and wiggled in next to Jim. He moaned happily. Jim was like a furnace, he gave off a lot of heat. "Great idea, Jimbo. It's the first time I've felt warm since the storm started."

"Good," Jim turned on his side, and Leonard scooted closer. "Let's get some sleep. It'll be a long day tomorrow."


	7. Chapter 7

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 7**

" **The ultimate test of man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today**

 **for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard."**

 **Gaylord Nelson**

At first light Jim woke up Bones. It was still cold, but they had slept well and deeply in the warm sleeping bags and under the thermal blankets, pressed closely against each other, generating body warmth. They got up, collapsed the tent and Leonard went out to the latrine first, the thermal blanket draped over him to ward off the bitter chill in the air.

One good thing about this planet, Jim thought, as soon as the sun came up, it warmed up quickly. First order of business though, was hot coffee and today, Jim decided, they would also have hot soup for breakfast. They would take the ration bars with them to snack on for extra energy. Climbing these big rocks would be difficult, hard work. Jim was a pretty good climber, but Bones had never climbed. Jim would have to be careful, and not venture into areas that would be too difficult for Bones. He also decided that he'd use a rope to tie them together just in case Leonard slipped. He would be tethered to Jim, which would offer him a measure of safety at least. Jim got his phaser out to heat up the water for the hot coffee and soup. No fire this morning, but maybe this evening he could light one. There was just something about a fire at night, Jim mused. Probably it was imbedded in the human genome and psyche from prehistoric times, when a fire meant safety, warmth and home.

The canteen was full again, replenished by the rain water, which Leonard had proclaimed safe. Now that they knew it rained ever night, they could be a little less strict about their water use; take another bath, wash their under wear again, and maybe even their outer clothes.

Leonard came back quickly. "It's still pretty cold out there. I left the latrine uncovered for you, but the rocks are right there, and I found two larger ones, left them in case you think it needs more cover."

"I'll check it carefully. I'll be right back, Bones. We're having hot food this morning, soup and hot coffee."

Leonard grinned happily. "That's good, hot soup sounds fantastic right now. You go on, I'll have the coffee and soup ready when you get back."

Jim came back quickly. "I made sure the latrine is well covered," he said, taking the coffee and hot soup Leonard handed him. "As soon as we're outside we'll completely cover the entrance of the cave, check the fire pit, then get going." He got out the binoculars, the rope, a small pick, and made sure his boot knife was in place. Leonard grabbed the canteen, the ration bars, his Med bag, and also checked for his boot knife.

They covered the cave entrance carefully and double checked the fire pit. Jim glanced around, everything looked untouched as if no one had ever been there. "Okay, we're ready. Let's head out." Jim explained the rope tether to Bones, who grumbled, but reluctantly agreed with the need for safety. He would use it as soon as the climb became steeper.

As they began to climb, Jim explained some basic climbing rules to Bones. "First of all, don't kick rocks loose because they'll roll downward and give our location away if the Romulans are around. Secondly, step over, don't jump over obstacles like rocks or fallen logs; jumping just makes you more tired. Third, don't jump from one area to another, your landing area may be small, uneven, or have loose rocks, you could slip and really hurt yourself. I don't think we'll have to do very strenuous climbing, but we may when we get higher up so I'm going to tether you to me now, okay?"

"Yeah, okay, Jim. I'll just do what you tell me. I figure you're the expert here."

Up they climbed, slowly and steadily, scanning the rocky terrain carefully for any possible hiding places. So far there hadn't seen anything promising. It was strenuous work, and after a good while of steady climbing Jim called a halt.

"Let's take a short breather. I'm thirsty, how about you?" He gave the doctor a keen glance; he looked all right.

Leonard sat against a rock. "Here, Jim," he said, pulling the canteen over his head and handing it to him. Jim's face was very flushed, his fair skin always susceptible to the sun and heat. Jim guzzzled a long drink and handed it back. Leonard drank greedily, poured a small amount in his hand and wiped his face." He huffed a laugh. "Who'd think I'd be warm now, after being so cold last night. This damn planet takes the cake."

Jim was looking around. He brought the binoculars to his eyes and looked up. "Bones, look up there. It looks like a large crevice; that might be a good place. Let's go see." They climbed up and over the large boulders, Leonard carefully heeding Jim's climbing instructions.

They reached the crevice and looked it over very carefully. It was deep enough to stand up in, yet wide enough for both of them to fit. It was difficult to see without being very close to it, and if they moved a few large stones closer to the crevice it would be even harder to spot. Jim pulled out his communicator and keyed in the coordinates of their location, otherwise they would never find it again. Leonard did the same in his.

"Well that's a relief," Jim said. "It's not too far from the cave, and we could get here fairly quickly if we needed to. Now at least we won't have to stop to look for a hiding place if we have to leave the cave area in a hurry. I hope we won't have to use this place or wait here while they're scouting, especially if it's getting dark or a storm is imminent. I don't think we'd survive a storm up here, even if we used the tarp to cover us. But if the Romulans decide to do reconnaissance close to the cave and we're caught outside at the time, we will have to make a run for it, we just can't take a chance they'll spot us." He sighed wearily.

Leonard looked at the crevice. True it wouldn't provide much over head protection from the fierce storms here, but it was better than nothing. He looked over to Jim. "What's wrong, Jim? What are you worring about now?"

"I just wish I knew where the Romulans were, if they're still in orbit, or planning to explore the planet more, what they're up to. It goes against my grain, all this hiding, sneaking around, and avoiding them at all costs."

Leonard looked at him sympathetically. "I know it does. Arm chair Admirals don't make it easy on Captains, do they."

Jim's hazel eyes were thoughtful as he looked out over the horizon. "I know it's the right thing to do, don't think I don't. Avoiding a war with Romulus is of paramount importance. No one in Fleet wants a war, and I know it was Spock and I who put Fleet in this position. The consequences of that covert mission weighs heavily on both of us."

"Jim, you and Spock were only following orders, and what you did, bringing that cloaking device to the Federation, has already saved hundreds of lives. You did what you had to do; what you were ordered to do."

"Maybe, but I'm a Starship Captain, not a spy. Of all the difficult mission orders I've had to follow, that's the one I've hated the most." He sighed again tiredly. "Spock and I have talked about it. We wonder what happened to the Romulan Commander afterward. Whether she was punished, stripped of her command, banished or executed. I've long suspected that Spock developed some feelings for her during that mission. She was quite something, Bones, and Spock...he admired her, I know he did."

"She must have been something, for Spock to be impressed by her."

"Yeah, she was." With difficulty, Jim brought himself back to the present. "Come on, let's head back, but very carefully and quietly. We don't want to chance running into a foot patrol."

"I'll walk behind you, Jim. I'll step where you step."

They walked back slowly making as little noise as possible. Jim timed the descent adding a little extra time for the harder trek of going up. When they sighted the cave he looked at his chronometer, it had taken 41 minutes to come down; he added another 15 minutes to go up, although now, at least, they knew the way to get to the crevice. Before reaching the cave, Jim held up his hand to stop. He brought up the binoculars and scanned the area. He raised them up to the brilliant sky to search for a shuttle. Nothing to the East, West, North or South. It could be that the Romulans were on the ground already, but there was no sign of them.

"Everything's quiet, so let's take a bath while we can, but we'll do it in the cave. I'll heat the water with my phaser, very low power. I checked it this morning, it's still fully charged. The water will only be warm, but at least it's not cold outside. I'll keep watch outside the cave while you wash yourself and your underwear, then I'll take my turn. Now that we have plenty of water, we can both use clean water. Well put our underwear outside to dry, it shouldn't take long."

"Are you sure, Jim? It hasn't been that long since our last bath. I don't stink already do I?" Leonard grinned, as he sniffed at himself.

Jim sniffed at him too. "Maybe a little," he grinned. "But if we're going to sleep up close and personal, I'd rather we were both clean. I'm going to wash my shirt too," he added. "I've sweated a lot, but we'll do that after our baths and washing our underwear."

They moved the stones and went in the cave. Leonard got the bigger pot out and filled it with water, Jim heated that one; their other pot he filled with the cool water for rinsing their bodies and clothes, then he went outside to stand watch. He could hear Bones splashing the water around, whistling softly. "I'm washing my t-shirt and briefs, Jim," he called out, "I'll be done in a minute." Sure enough, he came out of the cave in his other black t-shirt and spread his underclothes to dry on one of the boulders. "Okay your turn, I'll keep watch."

Jim threw out the two pots of dirty water behind a rock then refilled them. He made fast work of washing himself and his underwear, and brought them out to dry too. "Ready to wash our shirts?"

"Yeah, I smelled mine, its real stinky, you were right," Leonard grimaced in distaste. The doctor in him liked all things, as well as himself and others clean. Too many years of seeing how lack of hygiene, dirt, and poor diet caused disease and illness across the quadrant.

"Mine is stinky too."

They washed and rinsed their shirts one at a time, then spread them out. A good thing about all their clothes was that the synthetic materials dried very quickly. Jim looked up, the sky was clear and brilliant, perfect weather for a foot patrol, he thought. He felt antsy and restless now that all their ablutions and their clothes washing was finished.

"I'm hungry," Jim said. "Let's eat, all that climbing made me really hungry and it's past noon," he said looking up at the sun.

Leonard looked at him knowingly. When Jim was stressed he either completely lost his appetite, or he ate more than usual. "Soup or a meal?" Leonard asked.

"Both," Jim said. "we have plenty of food, no need to stint. But no fire until tonight, I think. I'll heat up the soup with the phaser."

Leonard got out the instant meals, the soup packets and mugs. Jim heated the water for the soup and they ate hungrily. It felt good to eat their fill for a change. He saw Jim check his communicator and close it again. Obviously nothing from the ship. They disposed of the dregs of their food, covering everything carefully, and checked on their clothing. The bright sun had dried everything quickly. They put away their underwear, but kept their shirts off, enjoying the warmth of the day. It was a beautiful day, the brilliant sunlight adding a glowing sheen to everything in sight. Leonard yawned, his full stomach and the warmth of the sun, making him sleepy.

"Take a nap, Bones," Jim said noticing the yawn. "I'll keep watch. I'm not sleepy."

"Maybe I will, just for a half hour or so," Leonard said. He went in the cave and brought out the thermal blanket to lay on, and stretched out. He was asleep instantly. Jim smiled at him fondly. Like all Starship captains and doctors, Bones could fall asleep anytime anywhere. Jim stood and climbed on the lookout rock, as he had dubbed it, and checked out the terrain as far as he could see. Suddenly he stiffened. Far away he could see a lone figure, walking aimlessly, it looked like to Jim. He watched him carefully through the binoculars. He could see the pointed ears, and distinctive uniform, so definitely a Romulan. The man would stop, bend over to look at something, or squat on his haunches bringing something up to his face to look at it. It looked like he was in no particular hurry. He turned his head, as if he'd heard something, and another figure soon appeared by his side. There was a lot of talking and gesturing, the first Romulan shaking his head, the other pointing to where he'd come from. Finally the two Romulans turned and walked back to where they'd come from. What were they going to do, was the question? Another shuttle reconnaissance or a foot patrol. Whatever they decided, they were here. Jim looked back at the sleeping Leonard. He'd let him sleep a little longer. If it was another shuttle reconnaissance, they'd hide in the cave again. If it was a foot patrol, he wait to see which way the Romulans were heading before deciding to climb up to the crevice. Whatever their decision, Jim knew it would be soon, it was already early afternoon, and the Romulans would not want to be caught on the planet close to dark. They already had experience with the fury of the storms here. Those types of storms played havoc on the navigational systems and helm control of a small shuttle. Jim stood like a statue on the rock, waiting impatiently to see what the Romulans would do. He turned his head. Time to wake up Bones. "Bones! Wake up!" Jim called out. "Bones, Romulans!"

Leonard woke instantly, looked around for Jim in a panic. "Up here, Bones."

"Jim, what's the matter?"

"Romulans. I'm waiting to see if they decide on a foot patrol or another shuttle reconnaissance and in what direction they decide to go. They've already explored in this area, so I'm hoping they'll head in the opposite direction. We need to be ready if they decide to come this way, though." Jim never moved his eyes away from the binoculars.

Leonard hurriedly put on his clean shirt, handed Jim his, went in the cave and grabbed a canteen, the other folded thermal blanket, his med kit, four ration bars and placed everything by the cave mouth ready to go. He moved the large stones closer to the cave mouth, carefully checked all around the area, then sprinted quickly to check the latrine and came back. "We're all ready. See anything?"

"Nothing yet...wait a minute! They're in the shuttle again. I hear that rough engine. I'm not sure if it's heading this way or not, but let's get in the cave just in case." He looked up at the sun. "I doubt they'll be in the shuttle long, it's getting late in the afternoon, and they'll want to head back to the War Bird before dusk." He jumped down from the rock, forgetful of the recently injured ankle, and Leonard winced in reflex. He checked the area carefully and double checked that the fire pit was well and completely covered.

"I already checked the latrine, Jim," Leonard told him, picking up some of the things he'd left at the mouth of the cave. Jim nodded and picked up the rest of their things, and they went into the cave. Once inside, Leonard put everything back in it's proper place and spread out the thermal blankets to sit on. Jim reached out of the cave mouth to pull the large rocks toward him to block the entrance. He poked his head out to listen for the shuttle engine. In the stillness he could hear it, faintly still, unable to tell which way it was heading. He sighed in frustration and pulled the last rock toward him, fitting it tightly, totally blocking out the afternoon light. The cave was now in totally darkness.

"This is gettin' really old really fast, Jim boy." Leonard grumbled.

"Totally agree with you." He cocked his head. "I don't hear anything, do you?"

Leonard listened intently. "Nope...not a thing. Think we can chance moving one of the rocks a little to hear better?"

Jim drew closer to the entrance. He hesitated, then very slowly and gently shifted one of the rock a tiny bit until a sliver of light showed. He put his ear close to the opening. Dead silence. He bit his lip in frustration.

"What, Jim, what?" Leonard whispered.

"I can't hear a thing, not a thing."

"You think they're gone?"

"I don't know. There's no way to know. We're going to have to wait a while longer. Just sit still and try to be patient," Jim whispered.

"I'm a doctor, not a mole," Leonard hissed irritably. He scooted closer and leaned against Jim to try to peek through the tiny crack. He sat back frustrated, a disgruntled look on his face. Jim leaned in to whisper in his ear. "There's nothing to see," he said, "just relax, Bones."

He raised his hand to move the rock back when he froze. He raised his fingers to his lips in the universal gesture of "quiet." Very slowly he reached down to remove his phaser from his belt. Leonard's eyes widened in alarm. Jim switched on his phaser and put it on heavy stun and motioned for Leonard to do the same.

Leonard pulled his phaser out, raised an eyebrow in question. Jim leaned in and whispered in his ear so softly, Leonard could barely hear him. "I hear voices, seems like they landed the shuttle and are climbing up."

They sat very still, phasers in hand pointing at the cave opening, waiting to see what the Romulans were going to do.


	8. Chapter 8

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 8**

 **"A cold wind was blowing from the north, and it made the trees rustle like living things."**

 **George R.R. Martin,**

 **"A Game of Thrones"**

The Romulan voices got closer and closer. Bones reached out and grabbed Jim's free hand tightly, his phaser steady in his other hand. They could hear the Romulans clearly now, and their booted feet thudded lightly on the rocky terrain. From the sound of the scolding tone, one of the men was angry, Jim thought. It also sounded like there were murmurs of dissent from the other men. It seemed as if there were four Romulans speaking, Jim decided. Their loud conversation and the thuds of their booted feet could be heard clearly as they walked in front of the cave; Jim held his breath and Bones' fingers became vice like around his hand. The Romulans didn't stop, just walked on past the cave opening. Jim felt Bones draw in a breat, and his tight fingers relaxed somewhat.

The two men sat like statues, listening intently, not moving an inch when suddenly they heard the distant roll of thunder. In the darkness Jim turned his head and grinned triumphantly at Bones. Who knew they'd be happy to hear another violent storm rolling in.

Jim strained his ears. He didn't really understand much Romulan, but he'd picked up a word or two during their covert mission. Without the universal translator he had no way of knowing what the warriors were saying, but their loud, contentious voices could be heard clearly. Jim could hear one guttural voice louder than the others, it's cadence was sharp, and decisive. The Commander of the team, he thought. He listened intently. Three other voices responded to the first voice. There was conversation back and forth among the four, their voices agitated and strident. A four man reconnaissance team for sure, Jim thought. It sounded as if they were trying to decide whether to continue their foot patrol or risk getting caught in the storm.

Leonard unclenched his hand from Jim's fingers and raised a questioning eyebrow. Jim leaned in to whisper; there was no danger of being heard above the strident Romulans yelling outside. "I think they're trying to decide if they should leave right away. Sounds like the storm is coming this way." He could hardly hear Jim's voice, it was so soft. Leonard nodded that he understood.

The argument continued, loud and angry, until suddenly the voice of the one Jim thought was the commander, stopped the argument with one loud word. Jim understood that one Romulan word. "Enough!" There was silence and then the sound of booted feet moving away from the cave area. The sound of rolling thunder seemed closer and louder to Jim although it was hard to tell with the cave totally closed off. Bones leaned in to whisper in Jim's ear. "Do you think they're leavin'?"

"I think so. I can't tell yet," Jim whispered back. He tilted his head to hear better and heard the men's loud voices suddenly raised in what seemed like another escalating argument. Suddenly a louder peal of thunder sounded and the four men fell silent. The commander shouted again, and Jim could hear their boots clomping away from the cave, the sound gradually diminishing, until there was only silence. Romulans, it seemed, were contentious even with their commanders. With careful gentle fingers he moved the rock a tiny bit; it was still light outside but the thunder sounded closer and louder. Suddenly, the loud rough noise of the shuttle engine reached their ears. Even in the closed up cave they could hear the shuttle as it roared loudly in take off and then gradually the sound of the rough engine got farther and farther away.

They sat very still in the dark cave for a few more minutes then Jim reached forward with both hands to remove the heavy rocks from the opening. He stuck his upper body out, phaser in hand, and scanned the perimeter. All seemed clear. He moved another rock and scrambled out of the cave with Leonard following him. Jim jumped on the lookout boulder and raised the binoculars to his eyes to scan the sky. The powerful lenses brought the departing shuttle in closer, it was rapidly climbing higher and higher to the orbiting War Bird. It looked like the reconnaissance team was gone for the day. Jim sighed with heartfelt relief. It had been a very close call. He turned the binoculars to the west and saw the darkening sky in the far distance. The storm was still pretty far away, but the Romulans had been wise to leave when they did. Once the fury of the storm escalated, they would have been unable to take off in the lightning and wind shears. The shuttle would have been at the mercy of the elements, the fierce wind buffeting it around, its electrical and navigation systems in danger of getting fried by the bolts of lightening.

"We have some daylight left yet, and the storm is still pretty far off. Let's make use of the latrine first and then we'll decide what to do. You go first, I'll stand watch. When I'm finished I'll make sure everything is well covered."

Leonard nodded, got the sanitizing wipes and made his way to the latrine. He walked slowly, feeling weary, dispirited and worn out with the raging anxiety he'd felt in the cave knowing the Romulans were just outside. He just wasn't cut out for this kind of thing like Jim and Spock were. Of course he would do his duty as a Starfleet officer; he'd unquestionably follow Jim's orders to the best of his ability, but he was no warrior, no hero like Jim. He'd been on plenty of dangerous away missions since serving on the _Enterprise_ , but these experiences had not engendered in him any love for danger and excitement. On the contrary, watching Jim's courage in the face of sometimes insurmountable odds, seeing how he led by example, always thinking of and taking care of his crew, always putting them first before himself, throwing himself into danger to save his ship, only served to underscore his feeling that he was better off staying on the ship doing what he did best, taking care and healing people. He finished, wiped his hands, and looked up and around, the day was dying, twilight was upon them and soon it'd be dark. A fire would be nice. He schooled his features before walking back facing Jim. It wouldn't do for Jim to see him dispirited after everything Jim had been doing to make the best of this situation. He pulled down his shirt and walked back to Jim. It seemed Jim had read his mind. He was at the fire pit and a fire was burning merrily. He had water boiling. He looked up and smiled his sunshine smile at Leonard.

"I thought we'd have a fire for the time it takes the storm to come our way. It's going to be a while yet, I looked through the binoculars again and it's still pretty far west of us. Things always look better when you're sitting in front of a fire, right, Bones?" His smiled died and he looked a little anxiously at Leonard.

 _Damn it,_ Leonard thought. Jim could always read him like a book, and knew how he'd been feeling. _Now I've gone and worried him more than he already is. Pull yourself together, Leonard. Act like the officer you are and stop puttin' more weight on Jim's shoulders."_

"Boy! Did I have to use the latrine bad, Jimmy. It was worrying me that I might have an accident in that cave! We both wouldn't have liked that!" He grinned widely at Jim. If you cain't make it, fake it, as his daddy always told him.

Jim laughed as he bent to the fire again, his anxious look gone, his face now looking relaxed. "No, but you would've hated it more than me. My turn. I'll make sure everything's cleaned up and hidden after I've finished. Why don't you make us some hot coffee to go with our dinner. I think we deserve a treat after being holed up in that cave. It'll warm us up too, it's already getting colder. Stay by the fire, Bones and keep warm while I'm gone."

"I will, Jim. You go on now, coffee'll be ready when you get back and we'll have dinner."

There was a peel of thunder as Jim walked away, but it was muted and far away. They had time for coffee and dinner at least. Leonard set about getting the coffee, sugar and creamer out, as well as two of their instant meals. He looked at the soup packets. They still had plenty so they'd have hot soup, and their instant meals, along with hot coffee; really a pretty decent dinner. He fixed the coffee in the two mugs and heard Jim coming back.

"Everything is cleaned and well hidden, Bones," he said, taking the coffee mug. He sat down next to Bones.

"Take your pick, Jim," Leonard said holding out the two meals. "We'll have to fix the soup in one of the pots and drink from it with our spoons...communal soup, so to speak. We only have the two mugs and no bowls."

"I've shared germs with stranger folk than you, Bones McCoy," Jim told him, grinning.

Leonard rolled his eyes. "I know you have. Just don't share the sordid details with me, okay?"

"Bones, you wound me; there was nothing sordid about the details. My ma raised me to be a gentleman!"

"Uh huh, sure. Good thing I'm too good a friend to call you on that one," he grinned, his blue eyes alight with mischief.

Jim chuckled. "You're a good man, Dr. McCoy."

They opened the flattened meals and ate hungrily. Leonard poured the soup powder into the boiling water, stirred it and took it off the fire. "It'll be just right by the time we finish our meals," he said.

"Bones,"Jim said. "I don't know if the Romulans will be back in the morning. I don't think they got to do very much reconnaissance today before they left. I don't know what they're looking for, mineral deposits probably. This place is covered with rocks."

"Yeah, everyone wants dilithium, " Leonard said. "You think that's what they're looking for?"

"Not necessarily, they may just want to be sure they don't overlook any possible deposits. Spock said Geology didn't find any signs of valuable minerals during their scans, but then again, one man's mineral trash may be another man's mineral treasure. Also our sensors are state of the art. Theirs may not be as good as _Enterprise's_."

"Jim! You think everything on board our ship is the best," Leonard protested.

Jim looked at him in surprise. "Well, they are the best. That's why Constitution Starships are constantly being pulled in for upgrading, so they always have the best equipment on board. I'm sure the Romulan sensors don't even come close to ours. Not that the Romulans aren't great with technology, they are; they invented the cloaking device after all. But they tend to put their technology eggs all in one basket, one big thing at a time, rather than spread their credits and expertise throughout their fleet ships' upgrades."

He pulled the soup bowl between them and they tasted the soup. "Hmmm. Minestrone. It's good, "Jim said. "Not as good as mom's, but still really good."

"Nothin's as good as what your mama cooks, Jimmy." Leonard said, thinking about the fantastic food he'd enjoyed at the Kirk farm. "She's the best cook I know, and that's sayin' somethin' 'cause my mama and grandmama were no slouches in the cooking and bakin' departments. So, what do you think they're gonna' do tomorrow?" Leonard asked going back to their original conversation.

"I think they'll be back in the morning," Jim said, certainty in his voice. "If I was the Commander, that's what I'd do. That's what the Captain would expect the reconnaissance team to do."

"Yeah, I agree with you." Leonard was quiet for a minute. "I was thinkin' that instead of opening up the tent during the storm, we should pull in those big rocks and close the opening that way. Not that I like being entombed in the cave like that, it's too damn dark and claustrophobic, but it'll really provide us a lot better protection from the fury of these storms. That lightning was pretty bad last night. If a lightning bolt had struck anywhere even close to the tent, it could have injured us. Lightning can be lethal."

"Yeah, you're right. It's a good idea." There was another rumble of thunder in the distance, but it sounded louder and closer.

Jim sighed. It seemed that their respite time was over. "Storm's moving in. Let's pick everything up. You go ahead and clean out the pots and mugs, and I'll put out the fire and cover the fire pit." He got up. "I'm going to check the perimeter first, though. I sure wish I knew if the Romulans have set up some sort of a temporary camp close by," he said, jumping up on the high lookout boulder. "It would mean they were going to stay a while."

"I doubt it, Jimbo. They already know how fierce the storms are down here, or they wouldn't have left so fast. They probably just use their shuttle for meals and such while they're down here and just go back to their ship for the evening."

Jim looked dubious, Roumulans were known for their risk taking mentality, as he and Spock well knew, but at least this commander had shown some common sense about leaving when they'd first heard the thunder and way before the storm hit. Jim had a feeling that the other three Romulans had argued for sticking around to finish their reconnaissance mission. That was probably what the loud argument had been about.

He scanned the surrounding area quickly and looked up to see if by chance he could see the running lights of the parked War Bird, then jumped down when another peal of thunder sounded. The wind was picking up now and the temperature was dropping. Leonard quickly rinsed out their mugs and pots, collapsed them and went into the cave. He stored everything away, pulled out the two sleeping bags, the waterproof tarp, and the thermal blankets. Jim went to the fire pit, quickly put out the fire and covered the fire pit carefully and thoroughly. He did a quick jog to the latrine to check it once more. It was totally invisible. Once the storm had passed tonight, he'd make sure he and Leonard used it again as late as possible. They might not have a chance to use it in the morning if the Romulans showed up early. There were strong gusts of wind now as he made his way back to the cave, and he was glad of his thick shirt.

"Come on, Jim. It's gonna' start to pour in a minute. I've gotten everything put away and the sleeping bags set out on top of each other."

Jim glanced around the area one more time. The landscape around the cave looked untouched and pristine. Total darkness was fast approaching with the threatening dark clouds and it was time to hunker down in the cave against the fury of the coming storm.

A brilliant flash of lightning hit nearby and a hard rain began to fall just as Jim dived into the cave. Leonard breathed a sigh of relief. "You cut it close, Jim. That lightning strike was real close and dangerous."

"Sorry, Bones, didn't mean to worry you, just wanted to double check that everything was undetectable. Let's get this opening closed up before the lightning gets any worse." They pushed up their sleeves and sat side by side to pull the large rocks inward, grunting at the weight of them. Thankfully, they'd had the foresight to leave the rocks very close to the cave entrance, so they finished quickly. They left a very small opening to get some fresh air and to be able to look out to check on the intensity of the storm.

If they heard the shuttle in the distance coming their way first thing in the morning, they'd just have to close the small gap for the cave to be invisible. If they were already outside, and it was close by, they'd have to make a run for the crevice. Jim glanced at Leonard's pale face. "Lets have the lantern on, Bones. There's no reason we have to sit here in the dark."

He saw the relief in Bones' face, quickly hidden. "You think it'll be alright to use the lantern? We might need it later on."

"We need it now. That's why I brought it, to light our tent when we were camped." Jim scooted to get to the lantern and turned it on. The light it gave out was not very bright, but it brought a muted soft warmth into the cave. Jim smiled at Bones. "Better?"

Leonard nodded, smiling back. "Much better."

The noise of the loud thunder drowned any further speech. The lightning was now striking repeatedly, and the sound of the thunder was deafening. This storm was even more fierce than the one last night had been. Using just the tent for protection against the cold, wind and rain, like they'd done before wouldn't have worked nearly as well as blocking the cave entrance with the large rocks. The rocks barricade did a lot better job of protecting them from the fierce wind and lightning as well as keeping the cold out. It had been a good idea of Bones' to use the rocks.

Jim drew out his phaser; he would heat up some water for coffee. The hot coffee would warm them up and they both needed the mental and physical pick me up. He fixed both mugs with strong coffee, put in the cream and sugar and gave one to Leonard, put his own mug down and grabbed the thermal blankets so they could cover themselves. Drinking the hot coffee and sitting under the thermal blankets provided them with warmth as well as comfort. He sat leaning against the cave wall content for the moment. Bones sat directly in front of him so they could hear themselves talk over the loud sound of wind, rain, and thunder. Jim was pleased to see that Bones was also looking much more relaxed. He took a gulp of coffee, leaned in close to Bones' ear, to tell him they should use the latrine as soon as the storm passed, when a deafeningly loud boom reverberated throughout the small cave.

Leonard, his eyes shocked and wide, looked down at Jim. Lightning had struck the cave! Jim was slumped against him, unconscious!


	9. Chapter 9

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 9**

 **"Struck by lightning! Struck by lightning!"**

 **J.R.R. Tolkien**

"Come on, Jimmy. Open your eyes for me. Come on now. Atta' boy, open your eyes just for a minute." Leonard slapped Jim's cheeks lightly.

Jim was clutched tightly against Bones' chest when he opened his eyes. His blurry face was the first thing Jim saw and the worried fright in the blue eyes. He blinked to clear his vision forcing his eyelids to stay open, and his reward was the surge of relief he saw on Bones' face.

" 'ones," he attempted to say, but all that came out was a hoarse, raspy sound. Bones pressed a mug of cool water at him, but Jim's hands refused to cooperate. His shaky fingers couldn't keep a grasp on the mug. Bones shifted him a little in his arms and brought the mug to his lips. Jim took a few sips and looked up at Bones, his hazel eyes dazed and puzzled.

"Jim, do you know where you are?" Bones looked anxiously at him. "Do you remember?"

Jim nodded. "In the cave. What happened to me?" His voice was still raspy, but at least now his vocal cords seemed to work and he could talk.

Leonard drew in a shaky deep breath of relief. "A bolt of lightning struck the cave, probably directly on top of us. You were sitting against the wall and the electrical charge traveled through whatever the hell metal is in these rocks and electrocuted you. You scared the living daylight out of me!"

Jim struggled to sit up by himself, but almost immediately he fell back into Bones arms. His muscles were not working properly.

"Jim!" Bones protested. "Wait. Lie still for a minute. Quit movin'. You got quite a jolt. Here, let me help you." He shifted Jim in his arms and helped him to sit up, keeping a firm arm around him. Jim groaned as he pulled away slightly to sit up straight, then clutched at his head.

"Let that be a lesson to you, Captain. Told you to sit still; at least let me check that you don't have brain damage."

"Brain damage!" Jim looked at him horrified.

"Jim," Leonard ran the tricorder over him and peered at it in the dim light of the lantern. "You were electrocuted. This cave wall was a good conductor of electricity. Who knows how powerful that bolt was that hit the top of the cave." He grabbed his comm, pressed the light module and peered into Jim's eyes to check his pupil reaction. He nodded, satisfied. "Your pupil reactions are normal, thank the good Lord."

Jim ran a still shaky hand down his face. "I'm okay, Bones. I just have a really bad headache and I'm feeling shaky."

"I should think so. If you'd been outside the lightning would have killed you. Sit still a minute, I'll give you something for the headache." He pressed a hypo with a strong all purpose analgesic in Jim's neck, then sat back, watching Jim's face closely, as he waited while it took effect.

Jim breathed a sigh of relief feeling the pain med work almost instantly. "Thanks." He looked around the cave and then at Bones. "Why are you okay if the lightning struck the cave?" His voice was still a little shaky, a further effect of the lightning on his central nervous system.

"Probably because I was sitting in front of you, not touching the cave wall; you were and thank the good Lord only a part of your body was against the wall."

"Oh. Well thank God for that, it's bad enough it got me. Imagine if both of us had been electrocuted!" He looked around. "Is all our stuff okay?"

"Looks like it," Leonard said, glancing toward the neat piles of their things. "They were at the back, I don't think it traveled that far." He still looked worried. "Do you think you can stand up for me, Jim?"

"I'm not sure." He put his hands down on the cave floor to get some leverage. Leonard got behind him, grunting as he helped him get slowly to his feet. Jim stood upright, leaning heavily on the doctor. He swayed a little and then slowly released his death grip on Leonard's arms, standing still but steady. He didn't attempt to take a step yet.

Leonard stood close by, ready to help if he was needed. Jim drew in a deep breath. "I'm alright. Just felt a little unsteady on my feet for a minute."

"It's no wonder, Jimmy." Leonard ran the tricorder over him again. He nodded satisfied. "Your nervous system is getting back to normal. Just don't push yourself. I gave you a small dose of Cordrazine to help things along."

"Thanks, Bones." Jim tilted his head. He was feeling stronger, more steady on his feet. "Sounds like the storm is passing. How long was I out?"

"Not too long." Leonard smiled grimly. "Long enough to scare the hell outta' me though, just about 7 or 8 minutes. Whole thing freaked me out I can tell you. Damn crazy planet," he muttered crossly. Seeing Jim being shocked unconscious like that had scared the bejeezus out of him. He shuddered. For a minute he'd thought Jim had been killed.

"I'm going to give you some hot tea with lots of sugar. I don't have any glucose with me in the med kit, so raw sugar is the next best thing. The tea will be too sweet for you, but I want you to drink it all down, no arguments, okay?"

In the dim lantern light, Jim could still see the worry in the blue eyes.

"Yeah, I promise, I'll drink it all. I'm okay now, stop worrying, Bones."

"Easier said than done, and I'll be the judge of that. You sit right down on the sleeping bags. You need to get warm." He helped Jim to sit on the warm sleeping bags, draped both thermal blankets around his shoulders, then used his phaser to prepare the sweet tea.

At the first sip, Jim made a face at the too sweet taste, but he gamefully swallowed all of it down. The sugar hit his system and almost immediately he felt better, stronger and less shaky. He looked up and noticed Bones standing just above him in his thin shirt. "Bones! It's too cold for you to, be in that shirt. Here," he pulled one of the thermal blankets off his shoulders and handed it to Leonard.

"You keep that on you, Jim Kirk, until I say so. I'll put on my other shirt," he said, pulling it out of their field pack and putting it on. Then he leaned down and sniffed at Jim's head.

"Bones, what the hell are you doing?" Jim asked, drawing back, a puzzled look on his face.

"I wanna' be sure you didn't get enough electricity goin' through you that it singed your hair. Burnt hair has a very distinctive odor."

"Did it, Bones?" Jim raised his hand and ran it through his sandy locks.

"Naw. Your golden locks are just fine," Leonard grinned. "Wouldn't want to have to shave your head, now would we?"

"God, no!" Jim exclaimed, horrified.

"Vanity, thy name is Jim Kirk," paraphrased Leonard, gleefully, finally relaxing a little and sitting down close beside him nudging his shoulder.

Jim whacked him playfully. "A shaved head would not be a good look on me, Dr. McCoy, nor for that matter, on you either."

"You can say that again," Leonard retorted. He grabbed Jim's wrist and checked his pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief. Jim's heart rate was back to its usual slow steady beat. "You're alright, Jimmy," he said patting his hand thankfully.

"I'm sorry I scared you. You always take good care of me," Jim said, his hazel eyes warm with affection.

"Yeah, well, someone has to. What would your mama say if I let somethin' happen to you?" he shuddered dramatically. "Hate to think of it, she'd totally cut me off from her home cooked meals forever!"

Jim laughed. "Ma would, but that would be the least of it!" He tilted his head. "Sounds like the storm has passed over us. What I was going to tell you, before I was rudely interrupted by that bolt of lightning, was that we should use the latrine later tonight, because I have a feeling the Romulans will be here bright and early tomorrow morning. We may not have time to use it early in the morning if we hear the shuttle coming. We'll need to grab our rations, the tarp, totally cover the cave entrance with the rocks and make a run for the crevice. The Romulans didn't finish their reconnaissance up here today, so I'm sure they'll be back. I don't want to chance us being in the cave again when they come back and they're that close to us. After that, they'll probably head for the woods and check out that area again, and hopefully that'll be it, because there's really nothing else on this planet of any interest. I hope they'll head back to the ship and leave the planetary system."

"I hope so. They don't seem to be in any big hurry do they?"

Jim sighed. "No, which leads me to think this was only a detour on the ship's regular patrol. They were probably bored like we get sometimes with nothing more interesting than space dust for parsecs on end. The Captain probably thought it would be a good break from boredom for the crew."

"Huh," Leonard scoffed. "I can count on one hand the number of times when that's happened on this mission, Jim Kirk, so don't you try to pretend otherwise."

Jim grinned around his tea mug. "Okay, maybe I exaggerated a little, but once or twice it has gotten a little boring."

"And I've treasured and appreciated those two times, I can assure you, and so has my Sick Bay staff, as they'll be more than happy to tell their Captain," Leonard laughed softly. He felt a little giddy with relief. What if the lightning had stopped Jim's heart? What would he have done then? He didn't even have a defibrillator to restart his heart! He would've had to use barbaric chest compressions like they did in the old days; there was always a danger that a rib or two could be broken or cracked with aggressive chest compressions and it was hard work, very physically demanding for one person to do. When they got back to the ship, he was going to talk to Admiral Boyce about including a small portable defibrillator in every field med bag.

"I'm feeling a lot better, Bones. The sugar gave me a real surge of energy."

"That's good. That's what it was for. Okay, let's get you up on your feet and have you walk around for a bit. I'm gonna' monitor your heart rate while you walk. If we have to travel fast tomorrow up this rocky hill, I need to know it won't put a strain on your heart. A bolt of electricity like that has been known to cause heart damage. Also, I wanna' be sure you're steady on your feet before we do anything else such as going outside to use the latrine. It's pitch dark out there, so we're gonna use the flashlight for sure and I'm gonna' go with you. I don't want to chance you getting another sprained ankle on top of being electrocuted."

Jim grimaced, but nodded in resignation. There was no use arguing with Bones when he was in this kind of uber protective mode; and he had a point. Climbing rocky terrains in a hurry was physically very taxing.

"Okay, Jimmy. Up we go." He gave Jim both hands and helped him get on his feet. Jim stood still for a minute, clutching Bones' hands tightly until he felt steady on his feet; he let go slowly. He looked down to check his hands, they had stopped trembling, a good sign that.

"Alright?"

Jim nodded. " Yes, I think so."

"Good." Bones moved away from him. "Walk toward me. I wanna' check your gait as you walk. Slow and easy now," he told him, as Jim began to walk toward Bones.

Leonard sharp gaze tracked Jim as he walked toward him. When Jim was in front of him, he took his pulse, then Leonard moved to the other side of the cave. "Again."

Jim turned and walked toward him again. Leonard checked his pulse and nodded satisfied. "You're fine, Jim. Heart rate is normal, your gait is normal. You were very lucky!"

"Yeah, I was! Lucky to have you here with me, Bones. What would have happened to me if I'd been here alone!"

Leonard snorted. "As if Spock, Giotto, me or any of the Command crew would have let you come down here by yourself. Besides, Starfleet regs say the Captain cain't go on any away mission by himself, no one can. And don't ever try it, Jim Kirk, or I'll sic Admiral Komack on you!"

Jim laughed out loud. Trust Bones to bring out the big guns. Komack, always the proverbial thorn in the tenderest part of Jim's anatomy.

"Duly warned, Doctor. Alright, now that the storm's passed over us, let's move some of these rocks. If it's stopped raining, we'll go use the latrine, but we're not going out there if it's still raining. It's too cold, and there's no point in getting wet and chilled. When we go out, wrap the thermal blanket around you to keep those Georgian bones warm. Me, I'm Iowa born and bred, we Kirks are used to the cold; we can take it." Jim's hazel eyes glinted mischievously.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Why anyone would wanna' live in a place where winter lasts 7 months out of the year and the temperature is always hovering at zero is beyond me."

"Why anyone would like to live in a place where summer lasts 7 months out of the year and the temperature is always hovering at 90 is beyond me," Jim quipped right back. They grinned at each other. Both of them had been to their respective states several times on shore leave and enjoyed it every time.

They rolled away some of the big rocks blocking the cave entrance and looked out. Everything was wet, drenched, gleaming in the light which was streaming down from the golden moon in the now clear sky. The storm clouds had totally dispersed.

"If this isn't the weirdest damn planet as far as weather is concerned," Leonard said. "I wonder what causes these freakish storms. Could it be that second tiny moon, you think, Jim?"

"I don't know. We'll have to wait for Spock's Science guys to answer that question and all the others we have now about Perseus 2."

The wind had also died down and the stars overhead were brilliantly crystal clear. There was no air pollution or ambient light to dim their brightness and Jim, always susceptible to beauty in any form, looked his fill at the glory above him. He glanced at his chronometer. It was past midnight ship's time. They'd go use the latrine, cover everything up, and come back to get some much needed rest. He wished he could go for a short jog, his muscles needed loosening up after the electrical shock he'd received, but he knew better than to try. Bones would have a good old fashioned southern conniption.

"Let's go, Bones." He stepped out of the cave and stretched his whole body. The cold air felt good on his skin as they walked and he wished he could discard the thermal blanket Bones had insisted he put over himself.

When they reached the latrine site, Jim saw with dismay that the hard rain had flooded the latrine hole and water was seeping out through the rocks. They removed the top rocks, and Jim sighed in frustration. If the water didn't drain off by tomorrow, he'd have to dig out another latrine area for them. Hiding two places was already difficult enough, adding a third would be problematical. He said as much to Bones.

"Maybe it won't be necessary. If the Romulans come back tomorrow and don't find anything, they'll probably just decide to leave and we can uncover this one to dry out in the sun."

"Yeah, maybe. We'll just have to wait and see what they decide to do." They emptied their bladders into the water filled hole, but it was evident that they'd have to cover the latrine with a lot more rocks. They were well aware that human waste could still seep out and it would certainly be recognized by the Romulans . "It's a good thing we came out here. They would have spotted this otherwise. We have to hide all this mess with more rocks. It's just too muddy to add more dirt to cover the top of the hole."

"Jim, are you feeling up to hauling rocks? It'll take a little longer, but I can do it by myself."

"No, Bones, I'm alright. Let's get started."

"If you start feeling tired, you stop. Promise me. I cain't treat you down here if something goes wrong with your heart or your brain."

"I promise."

They looked around to find good sized rocks that weren't too heavy and then stacked them haphazardly over the entire area. Jim kept stepping away to check that the area didn't look staged. At last he was satisfied. "Okay, I think it looks fine now, natural; we've done as much as we can." Jim stretched his tired shoulders and back. "I'm feeling tired and I'm hungry again, Bones. Let's head back to the cave and hunker down."

"I want you to get some rest, but first I'm going to fix you some hot soup. You need to replenish your minerals and electrolytes."

"That sounds good."

Once back in the cave, they closed up the opening again except for a small hole so they could listen for the shuttle in the morning and get a little fresh air. Thry opened up the small tent to get ready for bed, then Leonard made Jim sit under the thermal blanket while he fixed the soup. "Finish it all, Jim, you need the nourishment. Then it's bedtime. Your body needs sleep and warmth to recover."

Jim ate hungrily. "Thanks, Bones, I was really hungry."

"Your body burned a lot of extra calories with that bolt of electricity that hit you. Then you burned even more by hauling those rocks. Now what you need is some rest."

Leonard put the waterproof tarp down, spread out the two sleeping bags like they had done last night, then placed the thermal blankets on top of them. They took off their boots, socks and top shirts to let them air out, then got in. Leonard savored the sudden warmth and wiggled his cold feet. He hoped with all that was in him, that the Romulans would not come callin' in the morning. He'd had enough excitement today to last him a lifetime.

"Good night. Or should I say good morning."

Jim yawned, wiggling closer to Bones for extra warmth "Good night, Bones. Thanks for taking care of me."

"It's my job, Jimmy. Go to sleep now," Leonard told him. _And thank God I was here_ , he thought. _Wait 'til I tell Spock, Sulu, Uhura and Chekov. Jim being electrocuted by lightning inside a cave. They're not gonna' believe it._

There was no answer. Jim was already sound asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 10**

 **"They also serve who only stand and wait."**

 **John Milton**

 _ **On the Ship**_

Spock sat in the Captain's chair and looked around the bridge. It was Alpha shift, so the Command crew was on duty. He sat still, his body language relaxed and at ease, mirroring what he had always observed in Jim Kirk as he presided over the bridge during routine shifts. Spock was by no means an expert at interpreting human facial expressions, however since his years of association with the Captain, and more notably with Dr. McCoy, he had acquired a more than adequate ability in reading and interpreting human facial expressions. Thus, he had little difficulty in doing so now. The Command crew, he could readily tell, was definitely not relaxed or at ease. No great skill on his part was required to read the despondent visages of Lieutenants Sulu, Uhura and Ensign Chekov. He had no doubt, that should he have occasion to go to the Engineering department, he would find a similar look on Commander Scott's face, and also in Commander Giotto's visage in the Security Department.

The command crew was worried, impatient, and generally discontented. It had been two days and nights since their last contact with the Captain. Since that time, the _Enterprise_ had traveled far away from the Perseus solar system and now sat far from Perseus 2, becalmed and still. The faint subatomic hum of her engines which usually was undetectable when she was flying, was now a persistent background noise as they waited for...something, anything; a confirmation that the Romulans had arrived and were orbiting Perseus, or better yet, that they had decided to bypass the planet all together, or even better than that, an attempt by the Captain to contact the ship. So far, there had been nothing; absolutely nothing.

Spock had done his best to keep the command crew engaged and busy. One of Jim's command strategies was to make sure that his crew remained at peak efficiency, that neither boredom nor anxiety compromised their unequaled competency. He worked hard to maximize everyone's productivity, trying to keep them happy and motivated. Jim led by example, always looking for ways to improve himself, and all his crew followed his lead; they were constantly looking to improve their already high degree of productivity and performance. This type of focus and professionalism is what made them the best crew in the Fleet.

So Uhura sat glued to her station working on boosting her communication output, Chekov fiddled with the long range sensors working to enhance both distance and acuity, and Sulu sat working out the algorithms for retrieving the Captain and Dr. McCoy from under the Romulan's noses. Mr. Scott, he was sure, was at his engines seeking to boost one more tiny percentage out of the warp drive, and Commander Giotto was, at this moment, doing drills to hone the Security personnel's phaser reflexes and physical stamina just in case they were pitted against superior Romulan strength and their disrupters.

So far Spock had not questioned or curtailed any of these activities and endeavors. He knew they were the results of agitated minds seeking equilibrium, all of them a little lost without the presence of that charismatic man who sat in this chair and led them so brilliantly. It was eerily silent on the bridge. Always, when Jim was in the Captain's chair, there was conversation, light banter, the presence of Dr. McCoy to brighten the bridge atmosphere, and, it must be confessed, irritate, yet challenge Spock's thought processes. Spock and McCoy's daily exchange amused the Captain, often drawing a chuckle or the bright sunny smile that always seemed to release the constant tension in the broad gold shoulders.

"Mr. Spock?" Uhura's pulled him from his reverie.

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"I've finished with the communication modules rewire. I've managed to increase our range by 21.4 percent. However, that percentage will not be constant, Mr. Spock. Mr. Scott and I agree that using the communication array consistantly at that level might blow the modules. We've also agreed that it would be best if we only use them when it's absolutely necessary to monitor the War Bird or communicate with the Captain. I still need to calculate what our maximum distance from Perseus would have to be in order to do either of those things, but Chekhov and I will soon have that figured out, Sir."

"Excellent, Lieutenant." Spock stood. "Mr. Sulu, you have the con for a short time. I am going to Engineering to confer with Mr. Scott."

"Aye, Sir." Sulu slipped smoothly into the command chair as Spock walked toward the lift. "Lieutenant Uhura, please call a briefing for the Command crew during the lunch break. Please notify Commander Giotto I need for him to attend also. We will all confer on our progress at that time. Please arrange for your lunches to be delivered to the Ready Room by the mess, it will be a working lunch."

"Yes, Mr. Spock."

As the lift door closed behind Spock, the Command crew exchanged mutual glances of satisfaction. Finally there was progress toward getting Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy off the planet. The three of them began making notes for their reports to Mr. Spock. They knew he would have many questions about what they had tried to do and what they had accomplished thus far.

Spock took the lift to Engineering. He and Mr. Scott had been working steadily on increasing the scope and range of their long range sensors. It was imperative that they have eyes on the planet soon. Last night, he had increased his mediation time in order to contain and suppress his impatience and rising anxiety. Today he felt more confident in the logical premise of his calculations for the long range sensors. Mr. Scott would double check the algorithms and they would make their report to the entire Command crew on their increased capacity and the CE's boost to the warp engines.

Lt. De Salle was on the main Engineering deck. "Mr. Spock," he said respectfully. "Mr. Scott is in his office. He said to tell you to go right in, Sir."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Spock made his way to Mr. Scott's office and opened the door to find him at his main computer. The office was meticulously neat, as was all of the Engineering department. Mr. Scott would tolerate no messes in his department, as all the engineers and techs found out immediately should they leave something out of place.

"Good morning, Mr. Scott."

"Mr. Spock, 'tis glad I am that you're here, Sir. I have finished my upgrade calculations, so let's get doon to business shall we?" Spock noted that the Scottish brogue was out in full force, always a sign that Mr. Scott was agitated.

"Very well, Mr. Scott. What do you have for me?"

"Well now, Sir. I have checked and double checked your calculations and they are correct. My lads and I can get started on modifying the sensors straight away. However, Mr. Spock, we must be judicious in using them, because that much of an increase in energy output for an extended period of time will fry the sensor's modules. I can give you one full hour at most, Mr. Spock, then we'll need to rest the sensors, let them cool down so to speak. That will mean that we won't be able to use them again for double that time. In other words, Sir, for every period of use, we must double the period of non-use." He sighed. "I canna' do more, Mr. Spock."

"Yes, I see, Mr. Scott. I expected something of the sort, but thought it best for you to double check my findings. So in effect, if we use the long range sensors, we will be blind for a period of time following their use."

"That's it in the nutshell, Mr. Spock." Scotty waited knowing better than to rush that brilliant mind as Spock did rapid calculations in his head.

"What about the short range sensor array, Mr. Scott?"

"That array will nae be affected, Mr. Spock. They work on a different power matrix altogether. We will still be able to use them, but their range is limited, as you know. Maximum range is usually planetary orbital range, no more than that, and that's stretching it some, Mr. Spock."

"Very well, Mr. Scott. Please prepare a briefing report for the Command crew. We will meet in the Captain's Ready Room during lunch. It will be a working lunch. I will see you at that time, Mr. Scott."

"I'll have the report ready, Sir. 'Tis glad I am that we're preparing to do something. Our lady is not the same without her Captain."

Spock nodded his agreement, and returned to the bridge. He had to admit, that he too, was ready to do something productive in order to bring the Captain and Dr. McCoy back to the ship.

At noon, the Command crew assembled in the Ready Room. Spock waited until the mess crew wheeled in the food trolleys with their lunches. After the mess crew had gone, Chekov distributed the lunches and drinks to everyone, and they sat down to discuss ways and means.

"Let us get started with the briefing," Spock said. "Let me be very clear. The Captain's orders stand. We must not let the Romulan ship know we are anywhere near Perseus, and we must not engage them in any way. To that end, there has been some progress in finding a way to retrieve the Captain and Dr. McCoy as well as evading detection by the Romulan ship. Lt. Uhura, will you please report on the progress with your Communications array."

"Yes, Sir. Just before our briefing began, I completed the temporary upgrades to our Communication array modules. I had reported earlier to Mr. Spock that I managed to increase our communication capacity range by 21.4; I have since eked out almost another percent, 22.1. Mr. Chekov double checked my equations and the results are accurate."

Chekov nodded his agreement.

Uhura continued. "It doesn't sound like much, but that extra percent is an increase of over 3 million kilometers of communication distance. Our communicator capacity, however, will not be constant, the modules just can't take it, but they should work well enough so that when we get close enough I can monitor the Romulan War Bird without their knowing it or contact the Captain or Dr. McCoy if need be." Uhura sat back in the chair looking pleased with herself.

"Excellent, Lieutenant. Mr. Chekov?"

"As Lt. Uhura reported, I double checked her calculations and, of course, they vere correct." He smiled at Uhura shyly. "With those calculations in mind, I then plotted the optimum course to take us closer to Perseus 2 so that Lt. Uhura would have the least interference and also ve would have the least possibility of detection by the War Bird, Mr. Spock."

Spock nodded. "Please send me and Mr. Sulu your navigational coordinates, Mr. Chekov."

"Done, Mr. Spock."

Spock looked at his padd and nodded. "Mr. Sulu?"

"Helm is ready to implement our course with Mr. Chekov's coordinates. Just waiting for your speed orders, Sir."

"Very good, Mr. Sulu. Mr. Scott?"

"Aye, Sir. I have managed to increase warp engine capacity by .058 percent," he told the group. "It dinna' sounds like much, but if we have to get away from the vicinity of the War Bird in a hurry, every little bit helps. Also, as Mr. Spock already knows, I have modified the long range sensors modules." He went on to explain what he had done to the long range sensors and how the process had to work.

Four pairs of eyes looked at him dubiously. Uhura voiced their concern. "Can we really do without the long range sensors for the periods of time they'll be unavailable after each time we use them? We don't know what kind of traffic might be out there or even if there is another Romulan War Bird in the vicinity."

Spock nodded. It was a valid concern and question. "We have limited knowledge of Romulan mission protocols, that is true. We do not know for certain if their ships travel alone on exploratory missions the way Fleet ships do, or if they travel in pairs or as part of a convoy. However, from the Captain's and my limited contact with a previous Romulan ship, that particular War Bird was unaccompanied, flying alone. We will proceed with that assumption, and Mr. Scott assured me that _Enterprise_ will still have use of her short range sensors, so we will not be totally blind."

"'Tis the best I can do, Lass," Scotty interjected to Uhura's still dubious face. "There is no way around it. Energy once depleted must be built up again. 'Tis the ancient energy output input equations we canna' get around even these days."

"Since Mr. Scott can do nothing about this, we will proceed as best we can with the limited use of the long range sensors and the full use of the short range sensors. It will have to do," Spock told them. "It is either that, or we sit here becalmed and do nothing."

"No, Mr. Spock," Uhura said, and the others nodded their agreement with her. "We must try to make contact with the Captain. I think I speak for the others, that doing nothing is not an option we would like."

"Mr. Giotto?"

"Security is at top efficiency, Sir. I have scheduled practice with the phaser rifles just in case they're needed. Romulan disrupters do not have a stun setting, as far as we know."

Spock agreed. They knew so little about Romulan battle tactics, except that they were fierce warriors with a highly developed sense of honor. "It is my hope Security proficiency will not be needed, Mr. Giotto. Very well, tomorrow morning marks the beginning of the third day that the Captain and the doctor are on the planet. Either the Romulans have moved on or they are still in orbit over Perseus 2. Either way we must find out."

"What is the plan, Mr. Spock?" Chekov asked.

"Tomorrow at the beginning of Alpha shift we will begin our move back to Perseus 2. Mr. Sulu, you will follow the navigational coordinates that Mr. Chekov has plotted. We will travel very slowly at sub light speed, 1/8 C., for one full hour. We will then stop, use the long range sensors to scan the space around and in front of us, then spend the next two hours becalmed. When the long range sensors can be activated again, we will once again move. It will be an extremely tedious and prolonged process, but it is the only way to insure that we do not accidentally encounter the Romulan ship or that we leave a warp trail that they might find."

Scotty sighed and nodded. "I agree, Mr. Spock. 'Tis the only way."

Spock continued "During the time we are moving, Lieutenant Uhura, you will get ready to use the enhanced communication array modules. I want you to engage them to full power while we are becalmed. I will leave it to your discretion to determine the duration and scope of your communication grid search. You know your systems best. Any subspace chatter that you might pick up you will report to me immediately, even if it is not Romulan."

"Of course, Sir, but why is that, Mr. Spock?"

"It may be, Lieutenant that a passing ship might have seen or encountered the Romulan War Bird, which would certainly help us determine its whereabouts."

"Yes, of course, Sir."

"Very well. I suggest we all get back to our duty stations and prepare for tomorrow. Make certain you are well rested tonight. You will need to be at your best tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

Spock watched them leave the Ready Room. He had confidence that they had done all they could under the very trying circumstances of trying to avoid the Romulans, yet still find a way to retrieve the Captain and Dr. McCoy. The plan was simple and elegant, and his Vulcan self, highly approved of both of those things.


	11. Chapter 11

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 11**

 **"A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green."**

 **Francis Bacon**

Leonard woke up slowly, totally disoriented for a few seconds. He felt warm and comfortable and there was a warm weight pressed up against him. He glanced over to see Jim who was curled into himself still sound asleep. He carefully drew out one arm from under the sleeping bag covers to check the time on his wrist chronometer. It was only 0530. He'd let Jim sleep for a while longer. The extra sleep would do him good; his body was still definitely in recovery mode after being electrocuted and the hard work of hauling the extra stones over the mess of the flooded latrine.

Leonard sighed. When Jim woke up, he'd check him one more time just to be sure his heart and reflexes were back to normal. It would be a while before he, himself, got over his fright at seeing Jim passed out at his feet after that bolt of lightning had struck the cave.

Leonard realized he'd only slept a little over 4 hours, but he felt fine. A doctor learned to do with very little sleep; it was just part of the job and had been for centuries…that had not changed. It had been after 1:00 am ship's time before they'd gotten settled in the sleeping bags to sleep after taking care of the latrine mess.

Leonard was still and quiet as he reviewed the electrocution medical protocols in his head. He'd treated a few cases of electrocution, mostly engineers, those foolhardy men who worked under Scotty and who were always taking chances trying out one more risky thing, but he'd never treated anyone who'd been struck by a bolt of lightning, even second hand lightning. Even as he shuddered at the memory, he felt confident he'd done all that was necessary for Jim's complete recovery. Truth be told, what had happened to Jim had been scarier than his being wounded or any of Jim's past injuries that he could remember treating. He hoped to God that he'd never have to see anything like that again.

He turned his body to the side, careful not to dislodge Jim away from him and wake him up. He peered at the front of the cave. The small hole they'd left open was still dark, so no sunlight yet. He relaxed again. No sense getting up in the bitter cold and pitch dark. At least as soon as the sun rose on this crazy planet, things warmed things up pretty quickly. He closed his eyes and reviewed what they had on hand to eat and drink. He'd fix Jim a strong cup of coffee with lots of sugar in it. Later more soup for the electrolytes, and a full instant meal for the protein. That should do it. Thankfully, Jim was as healthy as a proverbial horse; young, strong, and fit, with a resilient body that always seemed to bounce back quickly from any injury or illness. Not that Jim was ever ill, really. In the time Leonard had been his CMO, and even before on the Farragut as a green Lieutenant, Jim had probably only been ill twice that Leonard knew about, and only once seriously. The primary job of a CMO was to keep the Captain healthy, both physically and mentally fit, and Leonard took his job very seriously indeed. No one was more important than the Captain of a starship. The CMO's triage protocol on a starship was always treat the Captain first, no matter how badly others may be injured and even if there should be an Admiral or high diplomat on board. There was only ever one captain on a ship and he was always the CMO's first priority. And really, the rest of the crew would have it no other way. Jim was the engine that ran the whole shebang. His crew adored him, followed him without question, and without him they would all flounder.

He wondered what Spock and the crew were doing. If Leonard knew the _Enterprise_ Command crew, and he did, they were already hard at work trying to figure out how to evade the Romulan War Bird and get back to Perseus to pick them up. The crew was nothing if not focused, creative, and inventive. If there was a way, they'd find it. And the sooner the better Leonard thought. He was getting pretty sick of this damn planet with its extremes of weather, the weird configuration of its continents, its lack of humanoid or other intelligent life forms, and worst of all, the unwelcome company of the Romulans. What had, at first, seemed to be an idyllic, peaceful paradise for a relaxing camping trip, had proved to be anything but. He was going to really give it to Spock when they got back to the ship. He was going to enjoy making fun of the pointy eared elf for sending them down to a planet where he and his Science minions had only done preliminary scans and they'd all jumped to erroneous conclusions about its suitability. Ha! He couldn't wait!

"I can hear you thinking, you know." Jim's amused voice startled the hell out of him. "What are you thinking about so hard?" Jim turned to face him, careful not to let any of the frigid air creep into their warm cocoon.

"Jim! You're awake! How do you feel?"

"Good, Bones. I feel fine. I slept well, and I'm hungry. So tell me, what you were thinking about so hard?"

"I was thinking about Spock," Leonard admitted.

"Spock?" Jim sounded surprised. "What about Spock? That seems odd, that you were thinking anything about Spock."

Leonard grinned up at the cave roof. "I was thinkin' that I'm gonna' make so much fun of him, for sending us here, saying it was an ideal place for a camping and scientific trip. Making the decision just from his preliminary scan and it's been anything but. I'm really goin' to enjoy it too."

Jim laughed. "Yeah, I had the same thought yesterday. Spock and his Science department are usually so meticulous and detailed about their scans; don't know what happened this time."

Leonard chuckled. "What happened is that he jumped to a "human" conclusion without doing more logical and detailed research. I do gotta' say, though, that it's had its moments of interest," Leonard added dryly.

"Well you know that old Chinese curse." Leonard nodded. "May you live in interesting times," they both chorused at exactly the same time and they both laughed. Jim wiggled and made to get out of the sleeping bags, but Leonard stopped him. "Not yet, Jim. It's still too cold, the sun isn't even out yet," he motioned to the hole, "and I don't want you gettin' chilled. I don't really know how that bolt of lightning may have affected your immune system, but we're gonna' play it safe. I don't have much in the way of meds to treat you if you get sick."

Jim nodded. Bones had a point. They had no idea how much longer they'd be stuck on the planet, and if he did get sick, Bones would worry himself to death without all the medical bells and whistles in his Sick Bay.

The dark cave was slowly giving way to gray as it lightened outside. Enough light was seeping in through the hole that now they could make out the shadows of their camping gear in the cave. It was getting warmer too. Jim stuck out an experimental arm and noticed the cave was not quite as frigid.

"How much longer do you think the Romulans will be here?" Leonard drew the sleeping bag down from his shoulders to his chest. Not too bad now.

"If they don't find anything today or tomorrow I think they'll leave. Hopefully they won't find anything so they won't stick around. Even if they do find some minerals they want, they're only a scout ship, they don't really have the equipment to excavate or mine. They'll just take samples, make preliminary maps of the area and leave the planet to report. Afterward, the Empire might send out mining ships. _Enterprise_ will pick us up and we'll get out of Dodge way before that happens."

Leonard nodded. Jim, of course, had it all figured out. He looked at the hole, light was streaming in and it was definitely warmer. Time to get up and have breakfast. Then they'd leave the cave if no Romulans were in the area and go fix the latrine.

Leonard got up and fixed the coffee, while Jim pulled away the rocks. He handed the mug to Jim with a couple of ration bars. "We'll eat a real meal when we get back. You'll need to replenish the calories lost while we work." Leonard filled a canteen, grabbed a couple of more ration bars, the sanitizing wipes and Jim got the portable shovel out of the field pack. They scrambled out of the cave, covered the hole again, and headed to the latrine. They pulled away some of the stones, and to Jim's relief, some of the water had already drained off. They took turns digging around the hole to make it larger and the last of the water and waste seeped away. "Let's use the latrine and then cover everything back up, Bones."

After they used it, Leonard found more large and small rocks and Jim placed them haphazardly on top and around the latrine. They finished and sat down to rest, leaning back against a large rock. They cleaned their dirty hands and sweaty faces with the sanitizing wipes, and Leonard handed Jim the canteen. The water was still cold and refreshing. Jim handed the canteen back and peered up at the sun. It was climbing steadily and it was already much warmer; 0830 by his chronometer. Suddenly Jim sat up. In the distance his keen hearing could pick up the faint sound of voices. He signaled to Leonard to be quiet; he cocked his head to listen. He could hear the muted sounds of booted feet on the rocks and several Romulan loud voices. He leaned in to whisper in Leonard's ear. "Foot patrol. We have to get out of here, get to the crevice right away." He stood, grabbed Leonard's hand in a tight grip, looked hastily around to double check that there was no sign of their ever being there, and they hurried away, climbing fast up through the rocks. Thank God, the rocky terrain left no foot prints, Jim thought. With one hand he kept a tight grip on Bones' hand and with the other he kept checking the coordinates of the path he'd set. They climbed as quickly and quietly as possible. Jim stopped briefly; he couldn't hear the Romulans now, so they seemed to have climbed high enough to put distance between themselves and the Romulan foot patrol. They kept climbing and only the coordinates told Jim they were almost on top of the crevice before they saw it. He motioned to Bones to scoot in and then he quickly followed. They scrunched down and Jim glanced up and around. The ledge overhang provided good coverage if no one got too close.

They sat motionless and silent, their backs to the rock wall behind them. It was a tight fit for two grown men, but deep enough to hide them. Jim reached back to draw his phaser and motioned for Bones to do the same. He checked the phaser settings. "Heavy stun," he mouthed to Leonard. Romulans were a Vulcanoid race, so they were much stronger than humans; their bones and muscles were also denser and heavier than human's. A light stun would not be strong enough to stop an angry Romulan. Bones nodded that he understood and adjusted his own phaser setting. There was not a sound anywhere. They hadn't seen any birds or insects in the areas they'd been in, so it was eerily quiet in the crevice, only the sound of their faint breathing could be heard in the tight crevice. The Perseus sun climbed slowly overhead, the temperature climbing with it. Jim checked his chronometer periodically as did Leonard. Thirty minutes, one hour, one hour thirty minutes, two hours, two hours and thirty minutes. Leonard's body was starting to protest the forced stillness and Jim was shifting restlessly as well. Leonard passed him the canteen again; it was getting hot as the sun beat down directly overhead them now. Finally Jim got slowly to his feet, suppressing the soft moan that escaped him as his cramped muscles protested.

"I'm going to chance going back to see if I can spot anything, Bones. You stay here and drink more water, you look flushed and too hot," Jim ordered.

"Jim!" Leonard protested; loathing having him out of his sight.

"You just follow me in ten minutes. Just follow the coordinates down and you'll be fine. It's been almost three hours. If they were going to climb up here, they would have made it a long time ago. I imagine they didn't find anything and they've gone."

Leonard sighed. There was no point in arguing, Jim was determined to go see. Sitting still and doing nothing went against his very nature. "Just stay alert, Jim. I'll follow you in ten minutes."

Leonard waited impatiently for the ten minutes to tick by; the longest ten minutes of his life, he thought irritably. At last the ten minutes were up and Leonard scrambled out. He made his way down slowly, mindful of Jim's climbing instructions, careful where he put his booted feet and extremely careful not to dislodge rocks.

He made it down to the latrine area and breathed a sigh of relief to be on flat ground again. He looked around. There was no sign of Jim. He must already be back at the cave and waiting for him. The latrine looked undisturbed, so Jim must not have stopped here.

Leonard walked slowly toward the cave looking carefully around as he walked. Suddenly he heard loud voices. One voice was definitely Jim's and the other was a rough guttural one. He was still too far away to hear clearly. He crouched down on his hands and knees and crept closer, using the many large rocks strewn here and there as cover. He could hear the angry voice much more clearly now and Jim's voice too, loud yet calm. He peeked around a rock; it was a Romulan! He was standing on top of the lookout rock. There was a large specimen bag across his body and he was pointing a disrupter straight at Jim's chest. The portable shovel and Jim's phaser were lying in the dirt by his feet.

Jim's voice was loud, yet pacifying. Surprisingly, they were speaking in Standard. "Look we can talk about this. I'm here for the same reason as you are, to look for mineral deposits. I'm alone, here, you're alone too, there's no need for hostilities. We can each get our specimens and go our separate ways. Two scientists looking for something of interest."

Leonard drew a long breath, pulled out his phaser, checked that it was on heavy stun, knelt and carefully looked out from behind the rock. He had a clear line of sight to the tall, burly Romulan warrior. He aimed the phaser at the Romulan, his hands steady as he waited, holding his breath, to see what was going to happen.

The Romulan Warrior was speaking again. "You think I do not know who you are? Who the one is who speaks with me? I know you are not a scientist; I know your face. Every Romulan knows your face. You are Captain Kirok, the commander of the ship _Enterprise_. You and your officer Sp'ok stole our cloaking device. All of Romulus and Remus knows who you both are and what you did. You dishonored Commander Liviana Charvanek and she was exiled as a result of your perfidy."

Jim had his hands up and flat, the universal sign of surrender and non-confrontation. His voice was calm and cool, but he was speaking loudly, and Leonard realized it was in the hope that he would hear Jim and not show himself. "I regret that; she was a formidable warrior and a good commander. But you, as a warrior, know that we sometimes must follow orders we do not like or agree with. I answer to my commanding officers the same as you do. That mission was not one I wanted to undertake, but I had to." Leonard saw Jim lower his hands slightly. "Tell me, how do you come to speak Standard so well?"

The Romulan scowled. "I am a scientist; I speak Standard in order to communicate with many scientists across the quadrant." The warrior waved his disrupter around in agitation, and Leonard's stomach dropped in dread. He sighed in relief when the Romulan spoke again. "It is good you can understand me, Kirok, so I can tell you this. Romulans value honor above all things. A true warrior would not stoop to such deceit. We leave that to the spies the Praetor has for doing such things. I am but a lowly science officer, but I am still a warrior. Now I will avenge the commander and kill you, Kirok. It will bring me much honor when I present your body to my commander. All the Empire will rejoice that your dishonor and deceit toward one of our warriors has been avenged."

"Wouldn't I be of more value to the Empire alive? Your commander parading me in front of the Praetor and the Imperial Senate?"

"I think not! The Imperial Senate has announced to all of Romulus and Remus that there is a bounty offered for your death." The Romulan smiled baring his teeth. "It is as if the stars have aligned in my favor. You, being alone here, my comrades leaving me here alone to collect specimens and I having my disruptor with me. Prepare to die, Kirok." He raised the disruptor to aim at Jim, and Leonard stood and fired. He hit the warrior dead center in the chest. Not for nothing did Leonard Horatio McCoy, born and raised in rural Marietta, Georgia, become a dead shot by the age of ten, under the expert tutelage of his grandfather McCoy. As if in slow motion, the disruptor fell from the Romulan's hand, and his body tumbled backward falling straight down from the lookout rock to the ground below.


	12. Chapter 12

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 12**

 **"He's dead, Jim."**

 **Leonard 'Bones' McCoy**

The phaser dropped from Leonard's nerveless fingers and he ran over to the shocked Jim. "Jim! Jim, are hurt, are you all right?" He ran his hands up and down Jim's arms, checked his chest, head and face with gentle fingers.

"Bones! Bones!" Jim reached to grab the frantic hands and held them tightly. "I'm fine, I'm all right. The Romulan didn't touch me. He surprised the hell out of me, though. I didn't even hear him or have time to draw my phaser. I thought the whole scouting party had gone. He came out from behind those rocks, disrupter already in hand. He must have heard me coming from a long way away and hid. Apparently, he decided to stay behind to gather some specimens; he said he's a scientist of some sort on the scout ship. He told me the scouting party is coming back to pick him up later."

Leonard sighed with relief, willing his thundering heart to slow down. "Hell, Jim. When are you gonna' stop giving me heart attacks? That Romulan was gonna' shoot you! He was ready to kill you!" He shuddered with remembered horror.

"I know he was. I was hoping against hope that you'd hear my voice and figure out what was going on and not come close or show yourself."

"I did, I did hear you, and I knew right away something was wrong, you were talkin' so loud and then I heard the other voice." He rubbed a trembling hand across his stubbled cheek. Now that the adrenaline rush was subsiding, he felt weak and shaky. It had been too close, too damn close. Another 5 seconds and Jim would've been dead, shot through the heart by the warrior's disrupter, which no doubt set to kill.

Jim saw the color drain from Bones' face and the slight wobble of his body. He leaped forward to grab him. "Here, Bones. Sit down before you fall over." He pulled him gently forward and sat him down on the rock. "You saved my life, Bones McCoy. Again!" He rubbed Leonard's back soothingly and offered him water from the canteen. Leonard drank thankfully, noting absently that while Jim's hands were perfectly steady, his shook like leaves.

"Jim you gotta' stop scaring me like this or I'm going to have a heart attack 'fore I ever get to middle age."

Jim flushed miserably. "I'm so sorry, Bones. That's twice now that I've scared you."

Leonard took a deep steadying breath. "Not your fault, neither time." He carded one hand through his thick hair. "I'm all right, Jimmy. I just got a bad fright, but I'm fine, really."

"I'm going to fix you some of that sweet hot tea, Bones. The sugar will help you."

"No, no, I'm fine. Tea later. We better go see about the Romulan before he wakes up. What are we gonna' do about him?""

Jim grimaced. "I forgot about him for a minute, I was worried you were going to pass out. Let me just go make sure he's still unconscious. Although with your phaser set on heavy stun he should be out for a good long while." He climbed up to the lookout rock and looked down. The Romulan was flat on his back, spread eagled on the hard surface below. "Looks like he's still out. We're going to have to climb down and figure out what to do with him before the patrol shuttle comes back for him."

Leonard nodded wearily and stood up. Jim looked at the still pale face dubiously. "Maybe you should stay up here. I can go down by myself."

"Not on your life, Jim Kirk. He may be badly injured and need medical assistance. I'm goin' with you." Jim nodded and pulled him up from the rock: he stood close by in case Bones looked less than steady.

"I'm fine now. Let's just get down there and figure out what to do with him now that he's seen us. Damn it," he added softly. "We just cain't seem to catch a break."

Jim picked up Bones' phaser from the ground and handed it back to him. "I know it."

Jim kept a close eye on Bones as they climbed slowly and carefully down the steep rocky hill, Leonard clutching the medical Kit tightly. He didn't know a thing about Romulan physiology, hadn't ever been close to a Romulan like Jim and Spock had, but he figured they were close enough to the Vulcan genome type, that his medical experiences with Spock would help figure stuff out if need be.

They were close to the bottom, when Jim drew his phaser and checked the heavy stun setting. This time he was taking no chances. They approached the prone Romulan cautiously. The man appeared to still be completely unconscious. Leonard got out his tricorder and the two men crept closer, very slowly. Jim stayed close by Leonard's side as he ran the medical tricorder over the Romulan. He looked down at the readings, adjusted the tricorder, ran it over the alien again and put it away. He held his hand over the Romulan's chest for a minute, felt his wrist then looked up at Jim with wide eyes. "He's dead, Jim. I killed him."

Jim knelt by his side. "Are you sure? Check again?"

"Of course I'm sure! I'm a doctor, I know death when I see it," Leonard frowned at hm. "No heartbeat, no pulse, no respiration, flat line on the tricorder. I set it to Vulcan mode just to be sure." He sat back on his heels. "I killed this man! I shot him and he died!"

"No! No, Bones! You stunned him. He fell and it was the fall that killed him."

Leonard felt all along the Romulan's head and neck. "Fall broke his neck," he reported. "Killed him instantly." He drew in a deep steadying breath. "It was either him or you, Jim, so it had to be him, I know that." He looked up at Jim. "Guess we have to bury him."

Jim squatted down beside Bones thinking deeply. "No Bones, we can't bury him."

Leonard looked shocked. "Jim! We cain't leave him here like this; its barbaric, some animal might get to the body!"

Jim shook his head. "No, remember he said the others will be coming back to pick him up soon. This all has to look like an accident, that he slipped from up there," he pointed to the top of the lookout rock," and fell. If we bury him, there will be an intensive search for him and if they don't find him, they'll keep on searching and might find the grave. Then they'll know for sure that someone is down here besides them."

"Damn! I hadn't thought of that, but you're right. So what are we going to do with him?"

"First of all, we have to find his disrupter and clip it back on his belt." Jim got up to look around. Leonard ran his hands under the body and pulled out the disrupter. "Here it is, Jim. He fell on it."

Jim took it and clipped it back on the Romulan's belt. The specimen bag, full of rocks and foliage, was still around the body, so he didn't touch it. "Bones, is there anything on the body to show that he was phaser stunned before he fell?"

Leonard reluctantly opened the Romulan's uniform jacket and pulled up his thick shirt to look at his chest and abdomen. Aside from the greenish and brown bruises that were starting to show up on his torso, there was nothing. "There's just some phaser stun bruising." He pulled the uniform shirt back in place, gently, sorrowfully, then carefully closed the jacket again. He saw that Romulan warrior had been a young man, probably had a family, maybe even a wife, kids. What a waste.

Jim noticed Bones' sorrowful face and put a consoling hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. "Olay then, that's good. I'm so sorry, but we'll have to turn him over to rest partially on his stomach so it'll appear he fell like that. That'll account for his bruises. They'll know right away the broken neck is what killed him."

Leonard nodded, shaking off his thoughts. He'd done what he had to do to save Jim's life. He didn't regret that action for one second. Jim was still here, with his warm smile, his vitality, his energy undimmed; alive! He was just sad that a young life had been taken to accomplish it. "A fall like that would cause a lot of bruises anyway. There really wouldn't be any way for them to tell what really caused them."

"Good, that's good to know," Jim said, looking relieved. He looked up and scanned the horizon anxiously. "We need to get out of here, I don't think it'll be long before they'll come back to pick him up. They're afraid of the storms."

"I don't blame them," muttered Leonard, remembering the scare he'd had with Jim prone and unconscious at his feet.

They carefully, respectfully, turned the dead body over to lie partially on his side. Jim picked up a little bit of dirt and gently rubbed the Romulan's face with it, first on one cheek and then some on his forehead. Since the Romulan had fallen on his back, his face had been totally clean and that wouldn't have happened if he'd landed on his side or his front. Finally satisfied, he stood and looked carefully around. The two of them had left a few boot prints on the hard rocky surface, not many, but he'd have to get rid of them. He took off his shirt and hauled Leonard to his feet. "Let's get out of here. Walk in front of me, Bones, and try to step exactly where we walked when we came down." Jim followed Bones, trailing his shirt behind him in the dirt as they carefully made their way back obliterating the few boot prints they'd left, Jim making absolutely sure he got them all. When they got to the edge of the rocky promontory, he shook the dust out his shirt, handed it to Bones, took up the binoculars and scanned the bright blue sky above them. No sign of the shuttle yet. Jim was sure the scouting party would return by shuttle so they could just pick up the Romulan scientist and then fly directly back to their ship.

"We're Okay, no sign of them yet. Let's hurry and get back to the cave."

Leonard nodded wearily. "I'm gettin' real tired of that cave, Jimmy."

"Yeah, I am too."

They got to the edge of the rocky promontory and stopped. Jim put his shirt back on, then looked carefully back the way they had come. All evidence they'd been there was completely eradicated. He got in front of Bones and they began to climb. They were both tired and the rocky hill was steep, but Jim pushed them, anxious to get back to the safety of the cave. They were almost to the top when he heard it...the rough sound of the shuttle in the distance. "They're coming back, Bones," he huffed out. "We need to hurry." He reached for Bones hand and pulled him along faster until at last they reached the top of the hill. They were both out of breath with their exertion, but Jim didn't stop. At the mouth of the cave he hurriedly pulled aside the rocks covering the entrance and placed them carefully within reach from the inside of the cave. The hole was just big enough so they could squeeze in, and he pushed Bones in. Before he went in, he looked carefully around the area. There was no sign the Romulan warrior had been there, no footprints on the rocky ground, nothing. The rough sound of the shuttle engine sounded closer; the scouting party would be here quickly.

"Come on, Jim. Get inside." Bones' frantic voice reached him.

"Coming in." He wiggled his stockier body feet first through the hole, and both men breathed a sigh of relief. Jim reached out for the rocks he'd placed within reach, one by one, and covered the opening. He handed the last one to Bones. "Hold this one, Bones. I want to be able to hear when they get here. If they spot the body, they'll land very close to it. We have to know what they're up to. Just be ready to hand me the rock when I tell you."

Bones nodded, clutching the rock to his chest, scooting closer to Jim.

Jim could hear well enough. The engine noise was loud, but suddenly it throttled down.

"They've spotted him," Jim whispered to Bones. "They're going to land now." They waited holding their breaths. The shuttle engine stopped and after a few minutes they could hear loud agitated talking. It was obvious they had found the body. There was some yelling and then silence as the scouting party realized the Romulan was dead.

"Damn it," Jim said softly. It was never easy for a commander to lose one of his men. He listened intently. He heard the voice he recognized as the Romulan leader speak again in a commanding tone, giving orders. But what orders? There was silence and what sounded like a sharp rebuke. "I think they're moving the body to the shuttle," Jim whispered to Bones.

"Jim," Leonard said, softly, nervously. "Cover the hole, now. What if they suddenly decide to come up here to find out how he fell?"

Jim nodded and Leonard handed him the stone. Jim carefully closed off the hole. He wanted desperately to leave a tiny opening so he could hear, but he knew it was too risky. They were now in total darkness. Jim leaned back against the cave wall. He felt physically and mentally drained. If he was exhausted, he could only imagine how Bones felt. Taking a life went against everything the doctor believed in. His first instinct was always to help, to heal. That the death of the Romulan warrior had been an accident would do little to mitigate his guilt over the death of the young man.

"What do you think they're doin'?" Bones leaned in to whisper in Jim's ear.

"Don't know." Jim whispered back. "Probably putting the warrior in the shuttle, getting ready to transport him back to the ship. What I want to know is if they're going to come up here to check the area by foot, or just do a fly by."

They waited in silence until very faintly, through the rocks, they could hear the shuttle engine as it started, accelerated, and took off. Leonard scooted in closer to the opening so he could hear better. The engine noise was definitely sounding closer.

"They're doing a fly by," Jim murmured to Leonard.

Leonard nodded. It was the easiest thing to do. In effect, it was really just a perfunctory move that the scouting party commander would do in order to report to the Captain that he had investigated the area of the fall.

They heard the shuttle fly over the cave once, turn around and fly over them again. Then they heard the rough engine noise recede into the distance.

Jim breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against the cave wall, Bones close beside him.

"You think they're really gone? All of them? I sure don't want any more surprises."

"I'm sure. That commander isn't about to let any of his men stay behind alone again. He'll probably get a reprimand, or whatever the hell Romulan Captains do to subordinates for letting a Romulan scientist crew member stay behind alone. Truthfully, it wasn't a bad decision. They're camped relatively close by, and except for the fierce storms, there's really no danger to anyone on this planet, and they were coming back for him soon enough." He sighed. "As much as we try, no commander can really prepare for everything, for an accident, for the unexpected, which is what they'll think happened to the warrior. But knowing Captains and Commanders too, the blame will be parceled out or worse yet, taken upon themselves. No one likes to lose a man under their command. It becomes all too easy to blame yourself when that happens on your watch."

"I'm in command, Bones. It makes it my fault." Leonard quoted softly.

"What?"

"Just rememberin' somethin' you told me once when we lost a crew member on a mission."

Jim smiled tiredly. "Yeah, I remember that mission. It was true then, and it's true now, although not for me this time, thank God." He shifted and straightened out his tired legs. "We'll just wait here for a while to be sure they're not coming back before we go out again. Get some rest, Bones. You've had a rough couple of days." Jim patted Bones' leg affectionately.

"And you haven't? I'll rest when you rest, Jimbo, and not before."

Jim smiled. Stubborn doctor. "All right, we'll both rest. Let me set the chronometer to vibrate in 45 minutes and we'll take a little nap. If they haven't come back by then, then they'll probably already on the way back to their ship to take care of the body."

"Good plan, Captain." Leonard watched carefully as Jim set the chronometer. When he finished, he showed Bones the 45 minute count down. Leonard nodded; they both leaned back against the stone wall and closed their eyes. They were both asleep instantly.


	13. Chapter 13

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 13**

" **There's no need to fear the wind if your haystacks are tied down."**  
 **Irish proverb**

The soft buzz of the chronometer woke Jim. He looked over to Bones; he was still out like a light. Jim moved away from him carefully so as not to wake him. The cave was pitch dark, but by feel he gingerly moved the rock that covered their lookout hole. He moved it a tiny bit, listened carefully, but could hear nothing. He moved it a little more, again listening carefully: there was nothing at all. He carefully removed another rock and a bright beam of mid-day light fell on Bones' face waking him up. He straightened from his slump. "Everythin' alright?" He slurred, still mostly asleep.

"Seems to be. I don't hear anything out there, no shuttle, any booted feet, no conversation. I think they're gone, probably on their way back to the ship with the dead warrior. I don't know what their Captain is going to decide, if he'll want to do a little more investigation, or take it at face value that the warrior fell from the lookout rock."

Bones nodded. He yawned and stretched the kink in his neck. "What would you do, Jimmy, as Captain? Under these circumstances?"

Jim thought about it for a moment, his hazel eyes pensive. "I think I'd take at face value. They've had shuttle reconnaissance of the area; they've had foot patrol reconnaissance. They haven't found anything at all of value here or even any habitable areas. The Captain could ask another scientist to check the specimens the warrior had in his carry all, but I really doubt they would be of much interest."

He turned to Leonard. "You haven't noticed or scanned anything of interest here, have you, Bones?"

Leonard shook his head. "Aside from a couple of plants by the lake and the mother feline and her kits, not a thing."

"Good, that's good. Maybe that's the end of it and they'll be on their way." He frowned suddenly.

"What is it?"

"I was just thinking we don't know a thing about Romulan burial practices. Whether warriors who are killed are returned to Romulus or Remus for burial, whether their bodies are kept in stasis on the ship until then, or if they have to be buried on the planet where they died, or if the body is sent out into space?" He sighed. They knew so little about Romulans that any of those were certainly possibilities.

"Damn, I hadn't thought of that," Leonard grimaced. "I sure hope they don't have to be buried on the planet they died on."

"Me too, Bones, me too, or they might be here a while longer." He peered out of the hole. I think we can go out now, but we won't eat outside, or build a fire until late this afternoon, closer to storm time. We have no way of knowing if they've already gone to the ship. I'll take a good look with the binoculars, maybe I'll spot something." He began to remove a couple of more of the large rocks. "Why don't you fix some coffee and a couple of meals? Use your phaser to heat up the water. We'll sit at the mouth of the cave to eat. I'm sick of being in the dark and closed up in there."

Leonard cast him a keen glance. "Feeling all right, Jim? It's not like you to grouse at circumstances that can't be helped."

Jim smiled ruefully. "I'm fine. Just sick of feeling helpless and constrained by orders, and I'm anxious to know about the ship," he admitted. "Guess I'm just frustrated."

Leonard nodded. First and foremost, Jim was a Captain and a man of action. Once he'd formulated his tactical plans, he wasted no time in implementing them, usually too much success. This hiding from and avoiding a show down with the Romulans went against his very nature and his command preferences.

Leonard laid a consoling hand on the broad shoulder. "It can't be much longer. They'll be gone soon, I'm sure."

They crawled out of the cave and stretched, glad to be out in the warm sunlight. Jim grabbed the binoculars and climbed on top of the lookout rock. Here is where the Romulan warrior had stood. Here is where he'd decided to kill Jim. It had been a very close call, Jim thought. Thanks to Bones, the Romulan had not fired his disruptor and he was still alive. He looked down. It was a long way down to the ground below. That kind of a fall could easily kill a man, if he fell wrong. He hoped the Romulan commander had been convinced that the warrior had slipped and fallen and broken his neck. He lifted up the binoculars and scanned the area very carefully. Nothing moved. He lifted the lenses up toward the horizon scanned again, then higher still. Nothing could be seen of the shuttle, and there was no sound of the shuttle engine. He jumped down. He'd wait a little while and scan the area again.

Leonard was just finishing preparing the coffee and had the instant meals out. He handed Jim his mug and Jim took a deep gulp of the hot coffee. "It's good. I sure needed it."

"Here, Jim. Here's your lunch. Let's see what we got this time. They pulled the tabs and lifted the covers.

"Spaghetti for me, you?" Jim asked.

"Stew," Leonard said. He took a mouthful of the hot food. "Not bad," he admitted. "Yours?"

"It's good...it's pretty hard to ruin spaghetti," he smirked. They sat at the mouth of the cave enjoying the warm sunshine. Leonard felt his body relax from the tension he had been in since he'd seen the Romulan point his disruptor at Jim. It had been too damn close. He felt very badly about what had happened to the young warrior, but he couldn't regret what he'd had to do in order to save Jim's life. What was it they had called it in the old days? Ah, yes, collateral damage, that's what it was. The Romulan warrior had been collateral damage.

Jim looked over at him. "Are you all right, Bones? I know you're thinking about the warrior, but there's nothing else you could have done, and you saved my life.""

"I know. I feel badly about the young warrior, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat, don't think that I wouldn't."

"I know you would. I would do the same for you, but I know this has been hard for you." He placed a consoling hand on Leonard's arm and gave him a gentle squeeze. He looked over to the lookout rock. "I'll take another look around, and then we'll go check the latrine, okay? You start putting our stuff away and covering up the cave hole." He got up, handed Leonard his mug and empty food tray, and climbed back on the rock.

Leonard felt a frisson of fear as he looked up at Jim on that rock. The vision of the warrior with his disrupter aimed at Jim's heart still seared in his brain.

Jim trained his binoculars high above the horizon. A silver flash caught his eye. He adjusted the binocular lenses and brought the distant image closer. It was the shuttle. It was climbing up higher and higher, obviously heading up to the stationary War Bird. His eyes followed it until it was out of sight. He jumped down from the rock.

"I saw the shuttle. It was flying up toward the ship... I think we're fine for a good long while. I don't even know if they'll come back again to investigate where the warrior fell, but we should take care of chores while we have the chance, just in case. I want a bath, a shave, and clean clothes. My shirt is filthy from dragging it in the dirt, and stinky from all the sweat when we climbed to the crevice."

"Yeah, let's do that. We have plenty of water. We can wash our clothes too if you want to."

"I do want to. As a wise doctor has often told me, 'Cleanliness is next to godliness,'" he grinned. "Let's get started, make hay while the sun shines. I'll go to the latrine first and check it out."

"Don't mess with me, Jim Kirk, or I'll use all the hot water. I'm gonna' get started with washing our shirts. Hand me yours and I'll do it with mine. I'll heat up some water for our baths and shaves unless you want to chance going to the stream where the felines drank?"

"I'd rather not chance it yet. Who knows what the Captain might decide to do." Jim handed Leonard his outer shirt and headed for the latrine. It looked as if some of the water had dried off. He'd uncover it for a short time for the strong sunshine to dry it out more, then he'd come back to cover it again. It was getting tedious, all this covering and uncovering, but so far it had worked. As he worked he spared a thought for his ship. So far the Romulans had no idea they were here. He knew his crew, and he knew they were anxious to come to retrieve their Captain and CMO, but he also knew Spock would follow orders to the letter and stay away until they were sure the War Bird was gone. Jim finished his task and walked back to the cave. Bones had already washed both their shirts and spread them out to dry on the big rock. He had pulled out their clean briefs, socks and t-shirts and he had both pots filled with water. He handed Jim the soap and wipes and they both stripped, thankful to rid themselves of their dirty, stinky clothes. Jim sighed happily at the feel of soap and warm water. He lathered himself up briskly, including his hair, and then rinsed off with the warm water. Leonard did the same. They threw out the dirty water and filled both pots again, one to shave with and the other to wash their underwear in. Jim's boot knife was still sharp as a razor, and so was Bones'. Both men soon had smooth clean shaven faces. They washed their socks too, and soon everything was set out to dry in the warm sun. They settled for airing out their jeans slapping the dust off of them.

"Feels great to be clean again," Leonard told Jim grinning. "And it'll be great to have extra clean underwear and socks to change into."

"Sure does. Feels good to be out of the cave too," Jim said. "I'm beginning to feel like a mole," he smiled tightly.

"Yeah, but thank the good Lord you found this cave, Captain Mole, or we would've been toast with the weather here and all those Romulans flyin' and traipsin' around here at the drop of a hat." His blue eyes went from twinkling to somber. "You saved us, Jim. All your survival skills have saved us. You always save us."

Jim flushed. "Bones! It wasn't just me! Look what you did, with my ankle and the lightning striking me and saving my life from the warrior. Don't underestimate your contributions, Bones McCoy."

Leonard ducked his head. "It's my job, to take as good care of you as I can. You don't make it easy, that's for sure, but there's no other job I'd rather be doin' than being with you on that tin can."

Jim sat down at the mouth of the cave and patted the area next to him. "Sit down, let's relax for a few minutes."

Leonard came and sat down next to him. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. "Bones," Jim drew in a deep breath. "Do you want to talk to someone when we get back? I can arrange for some counseling sessions via comm if you want me to. You've been through a trauma, killing someone, even if you have no choice, is a very hard thing to go through."

Leonard sat in pensive silence for a minute. "If I need to, I can talk to Geoff. He's not a certified therapist, but he's had several courses in counseling. That's another reason that I hired him, besides his Vulcan medical background for the hobgoblin. If I see any signs in myself of not coping well with this I'll schedule some sessions with him. And," he paused, "I can talk to you too, can't I? Over a drink or two?"

"Of course you can! You can always talk to me." Jim smiled gently into the troubled blue eyes. "That's what best friends are for after all. And don't I always come to you when I need to talk or vent? Where would I be if I didn't have you to talk to or set me straight when I need it. Turnabout's fair play, you know. I just don't want you to feel guilty about what happened. It was an accident, and he would have killed me if you hadn't intervened."

Leonard sighed. "I think I'll be all right, Jimmy. I know what I did was necessary. I don't really feel guilty about what happened, what I feel is sad, sad at the waste of a young life. You've been through it, you know."

"Yeah." Jim said. "And it never gets easier. I'm glad you're doing okay, but if you need to talk about it some more we can." He got up and felt their clothing. "They're dry already. Things don't take long to dry around here, do they?" He looked up at the sky. "I wonder how the ship is doing?" He flipped open his communicator to check for messages; nothing. Knowing Spock and the crew, they wouldn't be patient much longer.

Jim raised his head. "The winds picking up. I feel it. Let's gather up the clothes before they blow away. We better use the latrine too," Jim told him, as a gust of wind almost blew away one of their t-shirts. He grabbed it and the rest of the clothes and bundled them up.

Leonard got up and gathered their mugs, sporks, and their wash pots to rinse and put away. "You go first to use the latrine, Jim. I'll rinse our mugs and sporks, put away our clothes and the rest of our stuff. This weather is just plain freaky. It's not getting colder yet, though, so that's good." Jim handed him the bundle of clothes and took off at a fast clip to use the latrine.

Leonard went into the cave, folded their clothes carefully and stored all their belongings in their rightful place. "Just wait 'til we get back to the ship, I'm gonna' give that pointed eared elf a piece of my mind, sending us down here without really checking out the weather on this damned crazy planet," he muttered crossly. "Heat, freezing cold, massive storms, lightning, and now this wind. Might as well be in Iowa," he thought.

Jim came back quickly. "Go on now, Bones. Winds really picking up. Don't be long, okay? I left it uncovered and the stones are right there. The water has all dried out."

Leonard went out of the cave and a strong gust of wind buffeted him a little. "Damn it," he muttered, "that's all we need, gale force winds." He shook his head irritably and hurried to the latrine. He finished, used the sanitizing wipe, and hurriedly began to put the stones back. Jim was right. The latrine was completely dry now. Thank goodness for small favors. Maybe, he thought, as he worked, this wind would keep the Romulans from even thinkin' about coming back down here. He stepped back and eyed his handiwork. It looked fine; the area looked completely natural. It had become part of the landscape again. Another strong gust of wind shifted his lean body and he decided he'd tarried long enough. He made his way slowly back to the cave trying to stay on his feet as the strong gusts of wind buffeted him. He met Jim half way. "There you are," Jim said, relief on his face. "I was starting to get worried. I don't know what the heck this is, but I don't like it. I took a look through the binoculars and the plains area looks like it's full of whirlwinds or small tornadoes; the wind is really stirring up the land out there, there dust, debris, even small rocks flying everywhere. We better take cover before whatever this is makes its way up here."

They grabbed hold of each other and with difficulty, made their way back to the cave entrance when a sudden very strong gust of wind almost knocked them both over.

The cave entrance was suddenly and thankfully directly in front of them. "Get in, Bones," Jim shoved him in gently and dived in right after him. They turned to face the entrance of the cave and sat side by side and watched unbelievably as the wind suddenly picked up strength and speed. A sudden strong gust swept through the cave entrance and the wind moaned eerily, low and mournful inside the cave. Jim and Leonard looked at each other and, with one accord, reached for the stones they'd stacked at the entrance and began to stack them to close off the mouth of the cave. They left a good size opening to let in light and some fresh air since it was still only midafternoon and very warm in spite of the wind.

The force of the wind grew stronger. Dirt, small pebbles, and bits of dried wood began flying around right outside the cave, exactly where they had done their laundry. Jim shook his head and he reached out to add another stone to the entrance. He didn't want one of them to be hit by flying debris. It was obvious that whatever this was, it was just beginning.

"Jim," Leonard said in awe. "I think this is like a tornado, like we used to have on earth!"

Jim looked at him, and he suddenly started laughing, first softly, then louder and with gusto.

Leonard looked at him askance. "Jim?" He asked in alarm. "What's the matter? Are you okay? What are you laughing at?" With suddenly nervous fingers, he reached for his medical bag to pull out his medical tricorder. The lightning strike and the real possibility of damage to Jim's brain was still very fresh in his mind.

Jim out a restraining hand. "No, no. I'm all right, Bones," he huffed through his laughter. "I'm fine, I promise. It's just this damn planet. What else can it possibly throw at us?"

Leonard's eyes opened wide. He started to grin, then he too started laughing. "And to think we were going to have a relaxing three days of doing nothing but swimming, eating and enjoying our camping trip."

"Murphy's Law," Jim told him, his lips still twitching in mirth.

"Yep, Murphy's Law," Leonard agreed solemnly as the wind roared, whistled and moaned outside the cave.

.


	14. Chapter 14

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 14**

" **blessed be**

 **she**

 **who is**

 **both**

 **furious**

 **and**

 **magnificent"**

 **Taylor Rhodes**

 **On the Ship**

Spock was back on the bridge with the Alpha senior bridge crew. They were, according to Mr. Scott, ready to implement their plan to return to Perseus 2. He made himself comfortable in the command chair. It was going to be a very long day.

"Mr. Sulu, are you ready to implement the navigational coordinates that Mr. Chekov has plotted?"

Sulu turned in his seat to face him. "I'm ready on your order, Mr. Spock."

"Lieutenant Uhura?"'

"I'm ready Mr. Spock."

"Very well. Mr. Scott," he said into his chair comm. "Let us begin. Sub light speed 1/8 C for one hour, then full stop."

"Aye, Sir."

He looked at Sulu. "Take us toward Perseus, Mr. Sulu."

"Yes, Sir."

Sulu's sure hands moved the helm toggle a minute amount. The mighty ship began moving, its warp engine muted and soft. The crew perceived the ship's movement as incredibly slow and compared to their usual warp 3 or 4, it was much slower.

Spock sat back in the Captain's seat and checked the chronometer. One hour. The bridge was unusually silent during their one hour flight. There was no banter or chatter during their duty lags. Everyone was tense and on edge. The long range sensors did their work, scanning the space around them. Chekov had them at full resolution and magnification. There was nothing out there to see.

The chronometer counted off the hour and pinged.

"Full stop, Mr. Sulu."

"Aye, Sir, full stop."

"Any sign of a ship, Mr. Chekov?"

"No, Sir. Space is completely empty of ships so far as our long range scanners can see."

"Thank you, Mr. Chekov."

"Mr. Scott, we will be sit becalmed for the next two hours," Spock said into his chair comm.

"All engines stopped, Mr. Spock," came Scotty's disembodied voice.

"Lt. Uhura, please engage the enhanced communication array to full power for the next two hours."

"Yes, Mr. Spock. I've sent the grid parameters to your chair readouts if you'd like to follow along during my search."

Spock settled back in the chair. Waiting for Lt. Uhura's communication scan would try everyone's patience, including his. Meditation could only do so much. He, along with the Command crew, was sick of waiting around. However this process could not be rushed. It assured them the ship did not accidentally encounter the Romulan ship or leave a warp trail that they could find.

Lieutenant Uhura sat like a statue, hardly blinking with her head cocked, her ear piece shifting from one side to the next. The minutes crawled by, and, although objectively, Spock knew that time proceeded in its usual orderly manner, not even Vulcan logic could persuade his brain that time wasn't passing particularly slowly.

The chronometer ticked by the two hours and exactly on time, Mr. Scott's voice came on his chair com. "'Tis time for us to be moving again, Sir. Long range scanners are engaged."

"Very well, Mr. Scott. Mr. Sulu, resume course."

"Yes, Sir."

Again, the ship began its slow progression for one hour and again, the long range sensors found nothing. They stopped, and Lt. Uhura switched on the enhanced communications array; another two hours of nothing.

The long Alpha 8 hour shift crawled by. Spock dismissed Uhura, Chekov and Sulu to go to lunch while they traveled for an hour. The long range sensors would notify them if there was anything out there and he could recall them quickly to the bridge if necessary. Mr. Scott refused lunch. He'd grab a sandwich and eat while monitoring the sensor array. He nae would trust anyone but himself with the sensors, he told Spock.

Spock sighed silently. Mr. Scott was even more stubborn than Dr. McCoy. He had no objective data to prove this, but subjectively, he had no doubt.

The three senior officers came back early from lunch and the ship was once more becalmed. Lt. Uhura was back at her station for another two hours when suddenly she held up her hand. "I hear some space chatter, Mr. Spock."

"Put it on speaker, Lieutenant."

Over the bridge speaker they could hear the tinny sound of a transmission; one ship's communication officer speaking with another. "We're taking a long way around; Cap suggests you do the same. We spotted the Romulan War Bird a long way off and gave it a wide berth. We wouldn't stand a chance if they decided they wanted our cargo."

"Where is the War Bird?" Asked the second ship.

"It's parked above a planet several parsecs out. Scout ship, looks like. They ain't moving. Don't know what they're doing way out here. They're supposed to stay on their side of the neutral zone."

"Don't know, don't care. If they're on our side of the neutral zone they're up to no good and we just want to avoid them at all costs. So thanks for the heads up, _Triumph_. We'll do as you suggest. Mind if we travel together, follow your warp trail? We're empty of cargo, already delivered ours."

"Cap says no problem. He says we all work for the same company and we'll be safer together through this part of space. Cap says keep your phasers hot just in case and be prepared to run if need be."

"Our Captain agrees. Thanks. " _Star Gazer_ out."

The transmission ended and three pair of eyes turned to look at Spock. "It seems our question has been answered," Spock said. "The Romulan War Bird is still parked above Perseus 2." He toggled the chair comm. "Mr. Scott. All stop."

Scotty sputtered. "But, Sir, I was just about to engage the long range sensors for their designated hour."

"You may do so, Mr. Scott, have Mr. Reilly monitor them, but please report to the Ready Room. Additional information has come to us thanks to Lt. Uhura's amplified communication array. We must meet to determine our next course of action."

Spock could hear Mr., Scott's deep sigh. "Aye, Mr. Spock. I'll be there shortly."

"Please arrange for your reliefs," he told the three senior officers. He stood. "Lt. Kyle, you have the con."

Kyle left his bridge station with alacrity and slipped into the chair. He was always happy to log time in the Captain's chair.

"Monitor the sensors carefully at all times. Lt. Kyle, do not take your eyes off the screen. I will return shortly."

"Yes, Mr. Spock."

Spock, Uhura , Sulu and Chekov sat down at the briefing table and waited for Scotty. "Well at least we know the Romulans are still orbiting Perseus," Uhura said. "That saves us a lot of second guessing about their location. They seem in no hurry to leave, I find that odd."

"Maybe they're looking for mineral deposits," Sulu suggested. "The planet certainly has a lot of rock formations."

"Possibly," Spock said, "but conjecture at this point is useless without facts. There may be a number of possible reasons why the War Bird has not moved on."

Scotty came in, greeted everyone and sat down. "Mr. Scott," Spock said. "Lt. Uhura's enhanced communication array has already been of benefit. Please update Mr. Scott, Lieutenant."

Uhura filled Scotty in on the conversation between the two transport freighters and their confirmation about the War Bird's status.

"Well, now that's a pretty kettle of fish," Scotty said. "What now, Mr. Spock? Looks like the War Bird is still stationary."

"That's what we must decide Mr. Scott. Now that we've determined that the Romulan War Bird is still above Perseus 2, we must be careful to not venture too close to the planet. We have the advantage of our enhanced modified sensors and communication array, but we must still take great care not to be detected. As I see it, we can stay here where we are for another period of time, or come up with an alternate plan to retrieve the Captain and Dr. McCoy. I am open to suggestions."

There was quiet around the table for a moment, all of them cognizant of the Captain's orders. Finally Lt. Sulu spoke up. "Mr. Spock. Chekov and I have been talking when we've been off shift. We've been trying to come up with other options to retrieve the Captain and the doctor and we were wondering, Sir, about the feasibility of approaching Perseus 2 from the opposite side of the planet as an alternative. The mass of the planet, its two moons, and the asteroids that are orbiting Perseus could hide us physically, if we navigate very carefully as we come in close to and behind Perseus. They would also block sensor readings from the War Bird. Chekov and I realize we would be blind too; our sensors would also be blocked by the planetary mass, but we would still be able to use the enhanced communication array, and we would at least know when the War Bird moves on, maybe even their plans about when they'll move on. We realize that it would be risky to eavesdrop on the War Bird, Sir, so that part might not work."

Sulu brought up his padd to show Spock. "We thought that maybe Lt. Uhura could program the universal translator so we could eavesdrop and understand them on their comms. I know there are flaws to the plan, like what would we do if they decide to move somewhere away from their parking orbit, or if they detect the eavesdropping, but I think they've already checked the planet like we did when we first arrived, and they know there's nothing of interest on the other hemispheres of Perseus 2. There's just desert and more rocks. Also, we thought maybe Lt. Uhura could disguise the communication array as random space noise." Sulu stopped talking and looked dubiously at the silent Spock.

"What do you think, Mr. Spock?" He asked anxiously.

Spock steepled his fingers thinking about what Sulu had proposed. The plan had merit, but it also had flaws and was risky. It would have to be very carefully implemented. Would that the Admirals had deigned to give _Enterprise_ the prototype of the Romulan cloaking device to test. That would have helped them tremendously in getting closer to Perseus without being detected.

"Your plan has merit, Mr. Sulu, Mr. Chekov. Mr. Scott, your opinion?"

Scotty was busy with his pad working on the algorithms. 'Tis doable, Mr. Spock. Barely doable. We would have to plot our coordinate carefully, very carefully indeed. Calculate the mass of the two moons vs the mass of the ship and choose the right one to hide behind. We must be absolutely sure that we would be safe and invisible behind the Perseus moon with the biggest mass. And, Sir, as per the Captain's orders, we must make absolutely sure the Romulans don't see us. We would also have to stay directly behind the moon at all times and follow its orbit around Perseus. We canna' have any mistakes about that, Mr. Spock."

Spock nodded, doing his own calculations on his padd. "Mr. Chekov, Mr. Sulu, Mr. Scott, please calculate our trajectory and coordinates as well as the alternate route to Perseus' opposite side. I will do the same. We will meet here again in two hours and compare our findings. There is no room for error, gentlemen. Lt. Uhura, please have a plan in place to attempt encrypted communication with the Captain. Perhaps a code would suffice. The Captain is well versed in many types of codes. Your communication array may need further modification to reach the other side of the planet, Lieutenant, if we are behind a moon."

Uhura looked at them, her dark eyes flashing. She drew in a deep breath. "Sir, not to rain on your parade here, but keeping the Captain's orders in mind, shouldn't we just stay here, or get a little closer and monitor the War Bird as we originally planned to do? I'm not comfortable with circumventing or disobeying Captain Kirk's original orders. He was very specific…we were to avoid any contact with the Romulans at all costs. I don't believe he would approve of these plans. There's a high likelihood that we would be spotted by the Romulans if we follow this plan." Her eyes were angry, although she kept her body language relaxed and her voice softly modulated. "I firmly believe the four of you are jumping the gun and acting precipitously. After all, three days is not that long a wait. As you yourself said, Mr. Spock, Captain Kirk is an expert in every aspect of survival training and I have every confidence that's he's kept himself and Dr. McCoy safe and well hidden. As I see it, Sulu and Chekov's plan should be used as a last resort only, but not quite yet. I think we should wait. I do agree we should get a little closer to Perseus, but the rest of the plan should be tabled for now, but of course that is entirely your decision, Sir." She sat back. She had said her piece and now it was up to Mr. Spock. He was the one in command and she didn't envy him one bit. She would die rather than admit it to anyone, but Spock, though a highly competent and skilled officer was not Captain Kirk. His tactical skills didn't, in any way, compare to the Captain's.

The four men stared at her. Uhura was a highly competent officer, brilliant even. The Captain had often voiced his complete faith and trust in her abilities, but she seldom, if ever, imposed her opinions during briefings. The fact that she did now, showed the four men how strongly she felt about their present situation and their plans.

Spock was silent, still staring at her. She refused to wiggle or shift uncomfortably in her chair. Her concerns had been said in a definite yet respectful manner, and she had meant every word. She didn't agree with the plan, and in a briefing such as this one, her opinions were just as valid as everyone else's.

Spock's soft baritone voice broke into her thoughts. "Lieutenant Uhura, you are correct. I commend you for your good sense and caution. In my desire to retrieve the Captain and Dr. McCoy I have been remiss and let myself be swayed from the Captain's explicit orders. Thank you for your insight and plain speaking." Spock sat thinking for a few minutes while they waited silently.

His back ramrod straight, he told them, "we will continue with our original plan and attempt to get somewhat closer to the planet. Lt. Uhura, as soon as you think it appropriate, I would like you to use a code to send a message to the Captain. I suggest the ancient Morse code. The chances of the Romulans being aware of it are nil to none. You will hide the code within normal space static with no filtering. I have no doubt the Captain will recognize it immediately."

Uhura nodded, pleased.

"Mr. Sulu, Mr. Chekov, as your time permits, please continue to work on the course coordinates as well as the two moons' and the planet's mass algorithms in the event we will need them. It is always expedient to have, as the Captain puts it, a plan B in case one is needed."

"Yes, Mr. Spock," came from both officers.

Scotty nodded his agreement. "Mr. Spock, I will be returning to me sensors." He turned to Uhura. "Thank you, lass, for bringing us back to the task at hand."

Spock stood. "You are dismissed to return to your duty stations. Again, Lieutenant Uhura, my thanks for your input."

"You're welcome, Sir. I hope I didn't overstep my bounds," she told him. "It was not my intent to do so, only to give you my perspective."

"Not at all, Lieutenant. Your input was both welcomed and of great value. Please report back to your communication board. We will need your sharp hearing more than ever now."

"Yes, Sir."


	15. Chapter 15

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 15**

 **"Voiceless it cries,** **  
** **Wingless flutters,** **  
** **Toothless bites,** **  
** **Mouthless mutters."** **  
** **J.R.R. Tolkien**

Jim and Bones sat and looked out of their peep hole in horrid fascination. It was incredible how in the space of 30 minutes, the day had gone from sunny, mild, and beautiful to this. The wind howled and moaned, tore all around the cave area. There were pebbles, dirt, dead wood, and even good sized rocks flying through the air. They both startled when they heard a loud thump outside as something hit just outside the cave. Leonard jumped a foot and Jim put a calming hand on his arm.

"Hell, what was that?" Leonard asked blue eyes wide as they met Jim's.

"Probably a large branch or something that hit really hard." Jim reached over and grabbed a small rock to make their peep hole a little smaller. He didn't want something to fly in and injure one of them. The projectile would have the strength of a bullet with the force of the wind.

The sound of the gale force wind roared louder and louder. It sounded just like an old fashioned freight train. Jim scooted closer to Leonard to make himself heard. "This feels exactly like one of those Iowa tornados of my childhood. Mom would listen to the weather forecast and then grab her comm and take us down into the farmhouse storm cellar. It didn't happen very often, but great grandpa had that storm cellar built for a reason." He grinned remembering. "Sam and I always thought it was really exciting. Mom not so much, I think. The cellar had everything we might need for an extended stay. Cots, water, food, and a battery run weather station. Later, Grandpa Tiberius and then dad always made sure it was in good shape and well stocked. Dad always told us boys that tornadoes made a sound like a freight train and he was right."

"I've been in a hurricane before, they sometimes came in to the Georgia coast, but we always had plenty of warning, and the winds weren't ever very bad in Marietta," Bones said, raising his voice. "This is really bad, Jim. Damn weird planet," he muttered. Leonard was very unhappy with Spock and his Science minions. He kept thinking about him and Jim down at the camping site, oblivious and ignorant of the weather patterns here. They would have been badly injured or dead by now and with the ship too far away to help them or beam them back up! He voiced his thoughts to Jim. "In a way, I guess we can thank the Romulans for us being in this cave, Jimmy. Imagine us down in the camping site. Hate to think what would have happened to us by now."

Jim nodded. Another loud bang sounded just outside. He gave up and put up the last rock to cover the peep hole. No use taking chances until the wind died down. He got out the lantern and turned it on. They were not going to sit here waiting in the dark; he'd had more than enough of that. In fact, he'd had enough of just about everything on this damn planet. He frowned thinking of his ship. He hoped they were safe, and following his orders to stay away.

"Are you okay, Jim?" Leonard looked at him in concern, seeing the frown on his face in the dim light of the lantern.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'm just thinking about the ship and hoping they're obeying orders and staying put. When we get back on board, I'm going to have the Science department set out warning buoys around this planet," he said, loudly. "I now consider it a hostile environment. Not because of anything except these weird weather patterns. Appearances, when we first got down here, were very deceiving. If any other ship wants to explore it, they need to come prepared with the right survival gear and be able to leave quickly."

"Yeah, I would hate for anyone to be caught down here at the mercy of the elements. Jim, about the ship, I know it seems like more, but it's only been three days. I'm sure they're following orders even if they're just as antsy and anxious about us as we are about them. They want to get us off this planet just as much as we want to leave. Remind me to never listen to Spock again. Him and his bright ideas," he growled.

Jim grinned. He raised his voice louder over the howling wind, which was still very loud in spite of the closed peep hole. "You don't listen to him now, Bones. I don't really think you're going to start doing so after this experience."

A huge thunderous sound just outside the mouth of the cave interrupted him. The two men looked at each other.

"What do you think that was?" Leonard asked, nervously.

Jim shook his head. "I'm afraid to guess….it could have been anything. You want me to move the rock a little and peek out?"

Leonard nodded. "Just a tiny bit, Jim, and don't take any chances. I don't want to patch you up from flying debris injuring you."

Jim shifted the smallest rock and put his face close to the hole. It was almost dark outside, although it was only very early afternoon. His eyes roamed the area of what little he could see. "I can't see anything that could have made that noise, but what I do see is a big mess out there. The wind does seem to be dying down a little. Maybe this is blowing itself out, or moving on, or whatever this kind of wind does here." He sighed. "This weather is new. We haven't had this before. I hope the Romulans are aware and it discourages them from another visit down here."

"We have no way of knowing if this is even normal for this planet. Only thing missing is an earthquake."

"Don't even think it, not while we trapped in this cave. It might collapse on top of us if there's an earthquake."

Leonard shuddered. He shook his head trying to erase the thought of being buried in the cave from his imagination. "Hell, I hadn't thought of that."

As suddenly as it had begun the thunderous noise of the tornado-like winds died completely. Jim and Leonard looked at each other in bewilderment. The sudden silence was eerie. "You think it's over, or just a lull?" Leonard whispered.

"Only one way to find out."

Jim carefully dislodged one of the bigger rocks and stuck out a cautious hand. There were no strong gusts of wind that he could feel. Also, he could see that the darkness had already lifted somewhat. It was definitely lighter outside. He moved another bigger rock out of the way and first stuck his head out, then his torso. The wind had completely died down; only soft, small gusts blew across his body. "I think it's safe to go out."

Leonard followed him out. They stood up and looked around aghast. It looked like a bomb had exploded around them. Branches, pebbles and leaves were all over the area, piles of them. A huge tree trunk had flown through the air with the strength of a bullet and impaled itself in the side of the cave, straight into the rock face.

Jim and Leonard exchanged shocked glances. "It really _was_ a tornado, Jim. Only tornado gale winds could have done this," Leonard pointed to the impaled tree then looked up at the sky. As incredible as it seemed, the day was clear and sunny again. "Jim, we have to get off this planet. Doesn't it seem to you the weather is getting more erratic? And fast! When we first got here, it wasn't like this. Every day that we've been here it's been somethin' a little worse, but a tornado is the worse yet, it's very bad news," Leonard told Jim worriedly.

"I know, but until the Romulans are gone, the ship can't pick us up. We just can't chance it." Jim looked up at the sky too. "At least we're safe inside the cave. Bones, how do you think we're doing on rations? Do we still have enough meals? I know we have plenty of ration bars, but how about the rest?"

"We're fine. We have enough meals for at least another week, maybe more, and Fleet packed enough ration bars to feed an army...horrible tastin' things though they are, they are nutritious. And we have plenty of water stored now, even if it quits raining which I doubt it will. So we're okay, we won't have to forage."

Jim sighed. "Good, I really don't want to forage. We'd have to leave the safety of the cave for one thing and who knows if there's really anything to forage except those felines. I doubt it'll stop storming too." He looked around at all the destruction again. "We'd better go check the latrine; I hope the tornado didn't mess it up. I have no desire to dig another one!"

They walked to the latrine and looked d it over carefully. The force of the winds had shifted a few of the smaller stones, but except for that and some debris that had settled on top of the rocks, everything looked all right. Jim uncovered it so they could use it and he covered it back up before they walked back to the cave.

"Why don't we take a walk over to the wooded area. I'm sure the Romulans won't be back today, it's already midafternoon and they've probably monitored the tornado. I doubt they'll chance coming back, and I'm sick of doing nothing but hiding in the cave. We didn't see much of the wooded area, and I'd like to explore a little." He turned hopeful, expectant eyes to Leonard.

Leonard looked dubiously at him. "I don't know if that's a good idea. You don't think their sensors might spot us?"

Jim's face fell. "Yeah, I guess they might if they're still monitoring the planet. I thought of us walking very close together and we would appear as if we were an animal. Bad idea I guess, I'm just feeling antsy."

Leonard nodded. "Yeah, me too, but let's not chance it, Jim. Why don't we go for a run instead? We could run around the hill, close enough to the rock face that the Romulan sensors wouldn't be able to track us. I know you're itching for some physical exercise and so am I. I'm just as tired of being in that cave as you are. Let's strip off our shirts first; I don't really want to wash them again. After our run we'll rinse ourselves off with soap, water and sanitizing wipes. What do you think of that idea?"

Leonard knew that on the ship Jim worked out every day after his shift. He ran through the upper saucer corridor, or he worked out with weights and occasionally, he sparred with Spock. He also had martial arts lessons from Sulu and Chekov. This enforced inactivity was very hard on him, physically as well as mentally. The minimal manual labor they'd had to do daily was not nearly enough for the restless Captain and Leonard knew it.

Jim beamed. "That's a good idea. Just what I need." He was already stripping off his shirts. "Come on, let's get going!"

"Hold your horses, I'm coming, you hyperactive infant!" Leonard stripped too, picked up both shirts, and set them aside. Soon they were climbing down the hill to its base.

"I'll run in front of you, Bones. We'll stick tight to the rock walls. Let's see how big around this hill really is, we haven't explored the other side yet," Jim told him eagerly. "You have your phaser right?"

"Right here, Jimmy, and my med kit too. Ain't going nowhere with you without that."

"Someone might think you don't trust me, Doctor," Jim said, his hazel eyes innocently wide.

"I wonder why that might be. Hmmm?"

Jim grinned. "Let me grab the canteen and we'll go."

"Jim, I'm thinkin' that we better not try to go all the way around, with the weird weather here, I don't want to be caught in something bad out there."

"Good point. You know, it's a very good thing that I have your voice of reason down here."

Leonard punched him on the shoulder. "Damn straight."

They started the climb down. The sun beat down pleasantly on their bare torsos as they scooted down the rocky incline. It was a cool afternoon, the tornado like winds apparently preventing the usual afternoon heat. Once down, they looked around. Havoc had been wrecked all around them.

"Wow," Jim said, looking at the destruction all around. "We'll have to be careful running, to avoid all this debris, yet stick close to the rock face. Just stay behind me and watch where you step; try to step where I step. We won't run fast, just an easy jog to stretch our muscles."

"You just watch that ankle, Jim Kirk. It's healed, but you know how easy it is to re injure a limb. Watch yourself."

"I'll be careful where I step. You ready?"

Leonard nodded and they took off, their eyes on their feet. It was harder to run in boots, but since it wasn't for speed, they managed. Jim ran easily, enjoying the stretch of leg muscles and the coolness and sunshine. He breathed easily, tension and stress leaving his body as he ran. As always when he ran, he reached for that zone where everything fell away from him and all he was conscious of was the thud of his feet, the swing of his arms, his breath and the motion of his body. His brain pushed away all the worries he'd carried since they got here; the Romulans, his ship, Bones' well-being, the weather...it all disappeared as he ran.

Leonard just behind him saw the moment when Jim's body relaxed into his run, when his breathing evened out and he lifted his head to feel the soft air and sunlight. He smiled to himself. Just what the doctor ordered, he thought. Jim needed this. He carried so much weight on his broad shoulders, carried it so well that they all forget how young he really was and that he was only human. Jim's Captain facade was always present on the bridge, in briefings, with the Admirals, interacting with his crew. It was only in the privacy of his cabin, with Bones, very occasionally with Spock, that the facade dropped, that he would unburden himself and become just Jim.

They jogged carefully, staying close to the rock wall, watching out for rocks, branches and other debris on the ground. Jim stopped after a while to stretch and rest for a minute. He leaned against the rocky hill and raised his face to the sun light. Leonard held out the canteen to him and he took a swig and smiled happily. "Gosh, that felt good. Are you tired or can we keep going?" There was sheen of sweat on his torso, his hair was damp, and his cheeks ruddy. His hazel eyes gleamed with contentment.

Leonard smiled too and also took a swig of water. "I'm not tired, Jim. Enjoying it actually. It feels good to be outta' the cave, doesn't it?"

"Sure does." He looked up at the sky. It was sunny and clear. No signs of storm clouds or Romulan shuttles. He nodded satisfied. "We'll run another 30 minutes or so and then head back."

"Sounds good to me, Captain." He closed the canteen. "I'm ready."

They continued their run, and after another half hour, Jim turned around and they headed back following the exact same path they'd come. They hadn't seen a sign of anything alive, only the aftermath of the tornado winds. They stopped briefly to drink again, and were soon back to the place they'd started. The sun had started to lower on the horizon, and mindful of the ever changing weather, the climbed slowly back to the cave. They were both pleasantly tired and content. Jim removed the rocks from the mouth of the cave and Leonard went in to grab the soap, water pots and sanitizing wipes. He handed Jim the biodegradable soap and poured the rest of the canteen water into the two pots. They washed themselves down, first with the wipes to get the sweat off, then with the soap and warm water. They didn't bother toweling themselves off. The sun would dry them off soon enough and it felt good to air dry.

Jim sighed. "That felt so good, Bones. My muscles were starting to feel it, all the inactivity. Let's plan to do it again, if we can, okay."

"Yeah. It did feel good. And until we know if the Romulans are coming back, that's probably all the good exercise was going to get for a while." He sighed. "Maybe they'll leave soon. There's no real point to them stayin' around much longer, right?"

"I hope you're right," but Jim's face was dubious. There was no way of knowing what the War Bird's Captain was thinking.

Leonard raised his finger up, and, in the old fashioned way of many southern men and women down through the ages, felt the direction of the wind and the state of the ambient temperature. His daddy had done it in just that way, and his granddaddy too.

"Jim, the wind is shifting and the temperature is already starting to cool down. I think we need to eat supper, maybe start a small fire and then hunker down. You know we'll probably have another storm." He gazed sternly at Jim. "And no reclinin' against the cave wall, you hear me?"

"I hear you no reclining. I certainly don't want to go through that again, and I'm sure you don't either." He picked up their shirts and handed Bones' his so they could put them on now that it was getting cooler.

A squeak from Jim's communicator, which was lying on the ground, startled them both. Jim pounced on it. It was the first sound they'd heard from it since Jim had given Spock his orders to stay away from the planet. He flipped it open. The communicator hissed and squeaked loudly, but underneath the sounds of the regular space noise hisses and crackles that Uhura always filtered out for Jim and the crew, in the background, disguised as part of the background sounds of space, Jim could hear...something... a consistent pattern. There were regular short beats interspersed with longer beats. He turned wide eyes to Leonard. "Bones, that's code!" He listened closely, carefully. "It's Morse code. It's the ship! Uhura is sending us a message! Quick, give me your communicator so I can write it down!"


	16. Chapter 16

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 16**

" **When the trust account is high,**

 **Communication is easy, instant, and effective."**

 **Stephen R. Covey**

Jim sat with the two comms in front of him on the ground. Leonard plunked himself down beside him, fascinated by what Jim was doing. He was muttering to himself, head cocked as he listened and transcribed what he heard in Leonard's com.

Leonard couldn't make heads or tails of the hisses and squeaks coming from Jim's com, but, apparently, Jim could. Finally he raised his head, his hazel eyes alight, his smile bright and beaming. Leonard hadn't seen that smile since the day they'd first camped by the lake, and Jim had gone swimming.

R ._. O _ _ _ M _ _ S…

S … T _ L ._..

T _ H …. R ._.

W . _ _ E .

W ._ _ A . _ I .. T _

K _._ O _ _ _ M _ _

S . . . O_ _ _ O _ _ _N _.

"Jim what does all that mean?"

"It says _Romulans still there. We're waiting. Coming soon_." He looked at Leonard triumphantly. "Bless them, Bones! Scotty, Pavel and Spock must have enhanced the long range sensors, and Uhura must have done the same with her communication array." He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. "My crew is amazing," he said proudly."

"They are that," Leonard wholeheartedly agreed. "But...but...how did Uhura know you'd understand the code? And that the Romulans wouldn't? They won't, will they?" Leonard asked him, suddenly worried.

"Bones, Morse code is extremely archaic, it hasn't been used for centuries. Uhura and I share an interest in old codes…we've entertained ourselves learning some." He smiled at Bones remembering the fun he and Uhura had had when one of them discovered another old code. "You know sometimes bridge duty is just plain boring, especially Gamma shift. We all do different things just to pass the time. Even Spock." He looked sideways at Leonard. "Did you know that Spock has an interest in human poetry and old folk songs? Mostly because his mother does. He researches them when he's not busy. Sulu likes to research 18th and 19th century weapons. Pavel reads old Russian novels; Scotty likes to look at the schematics of ancient early combustion engines. And you, Bones, you enjoy looking at anything having to do with old fashioned medicine and medical equipment."

Leonard's eyes opened wide. "I didn't know you knew that about me?"

Jim grinned. "I make it a point to spot check what my crew is looking into in the main frame library computer, Bones. It's SOP for Captains. To keep an eye on the pulse of the ship, so to speak."

Leonard nodded. "Okay, I can see that. Sooo, the code?"

"Yeah, well Uhura and I have researched and learned a lot of early codes; flag codes, number codes, military phonetic codes. We've had a lot of fun, it's challenging; we test each other now and then. She knew that I'd recognize and know this was Morse code…that I could figure it out and transcribe it."

"That woman's brilliant," Leonard told him, wide eyed.

"Yeah, she is. None better." His eyes gleamed. "You all are. I have the best crew in Fleet."

"Yep," Leonard smiled. "Overachievers, every one of us."

"They were getting antsy and had to do something; even if they are skirting on the very edge of obeying my orders."

Leonard snorted. "Wonder where they learned that from," he muttered.

Jim put his hand over his heart. "You wound me, Bones McCoy! Just because I've skated on thin ice with a few Admiralty orders…."

Leonard looked at him unbelievably. "Do you even know you?"

Jim grinned. "I'm getting hungry. How about you?"

Leonard nodded. I could eat,' he said. "And some hot tea wouldn't be amiss either. Let's celebrate and have soup with dinner, hot tea, and afterward some coffee."

"Sounds like a plan." Jim looked down at the two communicators thoughtfully.

"What is it, Jimbo?"

"I'm trying to decide if I dare answer the message. I'm not sure what the Romulan sensors would pick up. It works like this, Bones. In order for the _Enterprise_ to receive a message from Earth, from another planet, or from another ship in deep space, the normal quantum space noise drowns out most of a message unless it's filtered out. That's why Uhura has the best SF noise filtering software in her main comm unit and why our comms do too. They're top of the line. So if we send out a message from our comm to the ship, the receiving ship, in this case _Enterprise_ , will automatically receive our message already cleaned up and audible; the Romulan ship will also. All ships have to have some sort of noise filtering software, they couldn't communicate otherwise. But Uhura has the ability to put back the quantum space noise which is what she did to send us the message; that's what those hisses and squeaks were. She did it on purpose to hide the code. However, our comms here already have filtering software installed, and we don't have the sophisticated technology on hand like Uhura does to put back the hisses and pops that would hide our message. Our message would already be automatically filtered and static free. Any Morse Code I send out will easily be heard."

"Yeah, I see...a problem for sure. Tell you what, let's eat our dinner, drink our tea in peace, and ponder this question. Is there a pressin' need to answer the code immediately?"

"No." Jim thought about it. "It might be better to wait for ship's night, actually. Gamma shift is mostly sleepy time. Bridge crew talk to each other or read to pass the time, to stay awake. We're lucky that our crew is an overachieving bunch and are usually very alert. Also, Spock meticulously checks every minute of the bridge log, when he's not on that duty shift, and every shift personnel knows that."

Leonard chuckled. "If it was up to Spock, he'd never sleep. He'd be on duty all the time. I've had to have a couple of talks with the hobgoblin about that."

"So have I, Bones, so have I. He told me that it was only logical to work when he had no need or desire for sleep. I didn't get anywhere."

"Same thing he told me. Know what I told him?" He smirked. "I told him that he had to get at least 4 hours of sleep every day or I was goin'' comm Amanda to ask her how she got him to sleep when he was living at home and that hearin' he was not sleepin' would worry her. He sputtered and tried to out logic me, but I didn't budge. Worked like a charm. Since then I've been monitoring his sleep patterns and he gets at least 4 hours a night."

Jim looked at him unbelievably, and started laughing. He laughed so hard that tears came to his eyes, and he bent over double.

Leonard grinned. It did his heart good to hear Jim laughing like that.

"Bones, you're a genius." Jim spluttered between spurts of laughter. "That was brilliant."

"Well it had to be done, and I'm the one with the power to do it," he said smugly. "Say what you will about that stubborn Vulcan, but he does love his mama. Now then let's get our supper, Jim. Sun's goin' down and you know what that means. Think we can start a small fire this evenin?"

"Let me check on what's out there." Jim climbed on the lookout rock and scanned the horizon and the sky. He did a 360 low, then a high scan and jumped down.

"Looks clear all around for now, but the storms come up suddenly as we well know. I'll make a small fire, right by the lookout rock, and have the stones ready right next to it, it'll be quick to put out and cover. Let me get the shovel," Jim told him. "Why don't you get the soup, meals and the hot tea ready, Bones? We'll eat, use the latrine and hunker down before the storms come in. Maybe by then I'll decide what to do about answering that message to the ship."

Leonard went in the cave, and retrieved everything they needed for their supper. He checked their meal supply, and as he'd told Jim they were fine for at least another week, maybe even ten days. Thank God for Starfleet survival planning. The Romulan ship would surely be gone soon, and _Enterprise_ would hurry back to retrieve them. He thought about the message quandary. It was Jim's decision to make, but Jim always wanted Len's input, not only wanted it, but valued it as well.

"Bones…." Jim's voice recalled him to the present. "New fire pit is finished. I'm ready to start our fire."

"Coming." Leonard filled the two pots with water, one for the tea, one for the soup, and carried them over to Jim who set them both to boil. He went back in the cave, and brought out the soup mix, the two meals, the sugar, and their mugs and sporks. He sat down next to Jim, and as soon as the water was hot enough, he put on the tea bags to time. In the other pot he put in the soup mix. "Looks like chicken soup this time," Jim said peeking into the pot. "You're getting really good at this kind of cooking, Bones."

Leonard laughed. "Yeah, a gourmet cook, that's what I am." He handed Jim his tea and removed the soup from the fire to let it cool a little. "Communal soup again, Jimmy."

"By now our germs are the best of friends, just like we are." Jim smiled at him. They sat in comfortable silence sipping their tea and drinking their soup.

"Guess in a way, this is sort of like camping, don't you think so?" Leonard leaned back against the lookout rock. "Not near as pretty as the lake though, but this cave has saved our lives," he added thoughtfully. "Something the tent couldn't have done. I've kinda grown fond of the cave 'cause of that."

"There is that," Jim agreed.

They finished the soup and Leonard popped open their instant meals. It was always a surprise what was in them. "Salisbury steak," he told Jim. "You?"

"Fried fish," Jim said. He wrinkled his nose. He wasn't fond of fish.

Leonard grinned. "I'll trade you. I like fish and you don't."

"Done," Jim laughed. "You know me too well, Bones."

The sun was setting by the time they finished. "You go on to the latrine. I'll clean up here and cover the fire pit. Still have some thinking to do." He sighed. "I hate to cover the fire, it's already getting cooler, and I doubt the Romulans are anywhere down here, and they sure won't be back this evening, but who knows about in the morning."

"I'll be right back." Leonard took a look at the sky. Yep, storm clouds were building toward the plains, and it was already much cooler. He hurried to the latrine, checked it over carefully, uncovered a few rocks and made use of it. He disposed of his sanitizing wipes and made his way back to Jim. "Your turn. Don't dawdle, 'cause the wind has shifted, and the storm clouds are forming. I'll finish here," he said, bending to finish covering the fire pit with the rocks Jim had set aside.

Jim left him in a hurry. He walked rapidly to the latrine, and, after he finished, he covered it up carefully. He sighed. This was getting wearisome. If the Romulans came back nothing must be out of place so they still had to be careful. Jim had no way of knowing if Romulans were as predictable as Klingons. Tactics 101 at the Academy taught all the Command cadets that Klingons were a highly predictable species in their battle tactics, in their hand to hand combat, and in their cultural injunctions. That's why, although they were feared by their opponents, and they were fearless warriors, they could be defeated by smaller faster ships. Their very predictability made them vulnerable. They, too, had a highly developed sense of honor, but it was a fluid type of honor, its many ramifications and permutations known only to the Klingons themselves who were engaged in a battle with you.

Romulans were a very different species. They were a complete counterpoint to the logical Vulcan race, although they resembled them closely and shared a common ancestry and DNA. What little intel that Starfleet had been able to gather on Romulus and Remus, indicated that the Romulans were passionate, cunning, and opportunistic — in every way the opposite of the logical and "cold" Vulcans. Therefore, although it was not logical for the War Bird to remain stationary above this planet, it was entirely possible they might.

Leonard rinsed out the pots and mugs dumping the water on the ground. With the rains coming the wet dirt wouldn't matter. He went in the cave and put everything neatly away. He got out the tarp, thermal blankets, and sleeping bags, opened the tent, and put down the tarp. Everything was ready for when the storm hit.

He looked up as Jim came back into the cave and saw Leonard's handiwork. "You're fast, Bones, but let's not go in yet. We can sit right out here, put the blankets over us and wait for the storm to head this way. Why don't we have a cup of coffee, it's really too early to go to bed."

Leonard looked up at the sky. The clouds over the plains were darkening, but they still had a while before the storm hit. He brought out the mugs, the canteen, and the coffee essence. He poured the water in the mug, heated it with his phaser, and put in the coffee essence and sugar. At least it was real coffee and not the replicated sludge they got on the ship. Again he made a note to himself for his feedback report to the survival sector of Starfleet.

They sat shoulder to shoulder, the thermal blankets tucked around them, with their backs against the cave wall, contently sipping their coffee and watching the gathering storm clouds in the creeping darkness. Jim was unusually quiet, Leonard thought.

"Jim," Leonard said softly. "Are you still thinking about the coded message Uhura sent us? Whether to answer it or not?"

"Yeah. Earlier I was thinking about the Romulans and how we know so little about them. If I knew more it would be easier to predict what they're going to do. Are they finished on this planet, will there be more recon missions, will they bury the warrior down here, are their communication and long range sensors array always engaged, are they leaving anytime soon? So many questions and no real answers," he said into his coffee cup.

Leonard leaned in and nudged his shoulder. "Jim, if you want my opinion," he looked questionably at his Captain.

"Of course I do. Your opinions and observations are invaluable to me," Jim told him earnestly.

"All right then, I may be going out on a limb here, but my advice to you is go with your guts. I've never known them to play you false. That's one of the things that makes you a great Captain. Don't get me wrong, here. You do your homework, you get input from your Command crew, from Spock, you get your orders from the Admirals, but in the end, you synthesize all that in that giant brain of yours and you go with your guts." He looked into the troubled hazel eyes. "So answer this question. What are your guts telling you to do?"

Jim took in a deep breath. He took one more sip of his coffee before he answered. "My guts are telling me to respond. Very carefully, very coded, and very succinctly."

"Well then," Bones drawled. "There's your answer, Captain Kirk." He saw the tension bleed out of Jim's face and shoulders.

"I'll wait until ship's night, then. I'm assuming the Romulans, like Vulcans, follow humanoid waking and sleeping patterns. My response will be less likely to attract the attention of a bored and sleepy comm officer late into the ship's night shift."

"Good idea," Leonard said. He grinned. "See? I knew you'd arrive at the answer." He gave Jim's shoulder a friendly nudge.

Jim nudged back. "Thanks to your good counsel."

"You would've arrived at that same conclusion sooner than later. You've got a lot on your mind right now."

"You think that's all it is, Bones? Nothing wrong with my brain after the electrocution?"

"Jim! Have you been worryin' about that?"

When Jim didn't answer him, Leonard put his hand on the clenched hand that wasn't holding the coffee mug and squeezed it lightly. "There's nothin' wrong with your brain, Jimmy. After a jolt like that it's normal to take a couple of days to fully recover completely. Believe me, I checked you over completely. You're fine, and that tactical brain of yours is fine too."

The hazel eyes looked into the serene blue ones, and Jim nodded, a faint sigh of relief escaping his lips.

Leonard patted his hand and changed the subject. "Storm clouds are gatherin' and comin' closer to us it looks like. You wanna' go in yet?"

Jim looked up at the gathering storm clouds getting closer to them. "Let's wait until the last minute. It feels good to be outside. I don't really mind being in the cave so much at night, in fact it's sort of cozy once we're warm enough, but when it's still light outside I don't like it."

"Well then we'll just sit here enjoyin' the view until the last minute. Everythin' is out and ready for us anyway, we just have to scooch on in and cover the entrance."

"We're going to use the lantern this time, Bones. We're not sitting in the dark anymore…there's really no need for us to do that. Those lanterns have plenty of reserve power." He sighed. "I wish I had thought of bringing something to read, I always read for a while before I go to sleep when I can. I'm on volume 5 of 'The Aubrey/Maturin series, 'Master and Commander' that Ma gave me. It's called 'Desolation Island'." He grinned at Leonard. "Sort of a prophetic title, isn't it?"

Leonard looked fiercely at him. "Not on your life! We may be stranded here for a while, but there'll be no desolation here, Jim Kirk, not on my watch!" A clap of thunder added a heavy weight to his growl, and Jim laughed out loud at Bones' vehemence and the accompanying sound effects.

"Let's get in to the cave, Bones. The storm will be here before we know it and it's getting cold. Let's have some hot tea while we wait for ship's night so I can send that coded burst to the _Enterprise_."


	17. Chapter 17

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 17**

" **Survivors aren't always the strongest;**

 **sometimes they're the smartest,**

 **but more often simply the luckiest."**

 **Carrie Ryan**

Jim and Leonard entered the cave just as the first drops of rain began to fall. As soon as they were inside, thunder began to rumble and eye searing bright lightning began to flash. Quickly, Jim started placing the rocks back to cover the entrance. The temperature was also dropping rapidly, and he shivered as he put the last large rock in place. He left a small opening so they could monitor the strength of the storm.

Leonard got out the lantern and lit it, then handed Jim the thermal blanket to put around his shoulders. "You get in the tent, and sit on the sleeping bags, Jim. I'm not taking any chances of you touching these rock walls. The lightning doesn't seem as fierce as it was during our last storm just yet," he said listening, "but I'd feel a lot better if you're not sitting close to the rock wall."

"Alrght, but you sit in the tent too. It's much warmer with both of us in there with our legs in the sleeping bags." They scurried to get in and get comfortable listening to the sound of thunder, seeing the flashes of lightening through the peep hole.

"You know, Bones, I'd give anything for something sweet right now. I was thinking of Chef's desserts a while ago. I was trying to decide if I wanted her peach cobbler, pecan pie, or chocolate chip cookies." Jim's hazel eyes glazed slightly, as he imagined eating one or all of those desserts.

Leonard chuckled. "Well," he drawled, "I don't have any of those on hand, but…," he got out of the sleeping bag, crawled to his duffle and started rummaging around. "Where did I put them," he muttered. "I know I stuck them in here somewhere."

Jim looked on, puzzled. "What are you looking for, Bones? Get back in here; you're going to get chilled. It's damned cold."

"Ha!" Leonard exclaimed triumphantly. "Here they are." He pulled out a small wrapped package and crawled back to Jim to get under the sleeping bag.

"What do you have there, Bones McCoy? I don't recall packing anything like that."

Leonard grinned. "I packed a little surprise for you. I knew sooner or later you'd want something sweet to eat." He unwrapped the package, pulled out two large chocolate bars and handed one to Jim.

Jim's eyes widened in surprise. "Bones! You brought chocolate?"

"Sure did," Leonard grinned mischievously at his sweet toothed Captain. On the ship, he kept a tight rein on the Captain's meal card so desserts were a once in a while treat for Jim.

"You are truly a wonderful man, Dr. McCoy," Jim said fervently. "The most wonderful friend I've ever had." He closed his eyes in bliss as the first taste of chocolate hit his palate.

Leonard burst out laughing. "If I'd only known that all it'd take was some chocolate to make you so amenable, I'd have bribed you with it a long time ago to get you in Sick Bay for your checkups and inoculations."

Jim smiled beatifically. "That just might work, Bones, it really might." He sighed and after eating half of it, he reluctantly closed the wrapping on the chocolate bar. "I'm going to save the rest for tomorrow, something to look forward to. I'm sure we'll still be here tomorrow."

"Yeah," Leonard said glumly, "I'm sure we will be too. It's a good thing you have Command training for withstanding the torture to defer eating the rest of that," he teased. He shifted restlessly in the sleeping bag. "Jim, have you decided what to do about the message from the ship, whether to answer it or not?"

"I've decided to answer it, but I don't know how yet."

"What do you mean?"

"I have to figure out a way to disguise our response. See, all our comms filter out the normal quantum noises of space, so if I answer the ship's message, the Romulans will hear my response loud and clear."

"Can we disable that filtering software so our message has those hisses and pops that Uhura's had?"

"We could, but with what? We have no tools. If we were on the ship, Scotty would have a vast number of tools, all kinds, all sizes at my disposal. It would be easy to find one I could use, but here all I have are my hands. Although it's fine, delicate work, it's not that hard to disable the quantum noise filtering module." Jim fell silent, eyes distant, thinking hard.

"Jim," Leonard said loudly, over the noise of the thunder. "I have some medical instruments in my Med Kit. Do you think anything in there might work?"

Jim's eyes lightened at the thought. "I'm not sure. I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a look to see what you have. Maybe one of your instruments would work."

"Just you be careful with them, and don't break anythin'. I don't want to be without them while we're still down here. I might need somethin' to use on one of us on this crazy planet." He pulled open his medical kit and one by one took out the instruments placing each of them carefully on top of the sleeping bag.

Jim looked at each one critically. Not the tricorder for sure, nor the biological specimen scanner, nor the hypo. Maybe the micro- suture or the laser scalpel would work, he thought. Those instruments were for fine work on a humanoid body, so maybe he could disable the communicator filtering module with one of them. He would only be able to try it with one communicator. The other had to remain in optimum working condition or the ship wouldn't be able to find them when it came to retrieve them.

"Bones, I think that I might be able to use the micro-suture. It's not that hard to disable or remove the module, but it is delicate work." He picked up the instrument, and looked it over carefully. "Will you show me how to use this? I've seen you use it on me and others, but I've never paid much attention to how it works or how you use it."

Leonard looked at Jim, then at the delicate instrument in his broad hand for a long moment. He shook his head. "I cain't believe I'm saying this, 'cause I'm no engineer, but maybe I should be the one to do it. I'm used to workin' with the micro-suture, and it does take some trainin' to learn how to use it. Residents and interns train on virtual reality modules so we don't injure anybody with it. The micro-suture is a small instrument, but it's pretty powerful. You could walk me through the process, diagram it first on your comm if you want, or just guide me step by step on how to do it. You can watch me carefully as I do it and if I'm about to mess up, you'll just stop me."

Thunder boomed and lightning flashed outside the cave while Jim thought about it. "Have you ever taken a comm apart, Bones?"

"Not since I was a green Lieutenant and starting out at SFM. One of our Chiefs made us take them apart and put them back together; we did that with several kinds of equipment and medical instruments as an exercise in finger dexterity for those of us going into surgery. As I recall it wasn't hard, and I did it easily enough, but it was a long time ago when comms were a lot simpler." He looked dubiously at Jim. "You thinkin' I wouldn't be able to do it, Jim? I don't want to mess up our only chance of communicating with the ship."

"I'm not thinking that at all, Bones. I'm actually thinking it might be better if you do it. You're the one with the experience with the micro-suture. I'm just wondering how best to proceed."

He flipped open his communicator and looked it over minutely. "I could open it up now and we'll look it over very carefully. I'll show you where the module is located and you can look at it and tell me if you think using the micro-suture would work, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. We can decide after I look at it." He looked soberly at Jim. "I won't do it if you have doubts. I realize we'll only get one chance to send the ship that response,"

"It's not dire if we don't. They know we're here and they know that we know they can't come for us yet, but it would go a long way to reassure the crew that we're both okay if we responded to them. I'm sure they're aware we must have found a hiding place, at least I hope so. That's probably what worries them the most, how and where we've been able to hide from the Romulans."

Leonard nodded. "I'm sure the Command crew is chomping at the bit and real worried about now. I would be too if I was on the ship and you were stuck down here with someone else."

Jim scooted toward the peep hole. The storm was still raging and, once again, he was grateful that they were safe and snug in the cave. However, he was well aware the crew had no idea how they were faring and would be anxious to get some kind of reassurance.

"Alright, Bones, let's go for it. You'll do it and I'll guide you through it. We'll go slowly, step by step."

"I'm ready."

"Let me have one of our eating sporks. I'll need to use the edge of the handle to open up the comm." Leonard handed him the spork, moved the lantern closer to Jim, and scooted up right next to him so he could see better. Jim took one of the communicators and carefully pried it apart using the edge of the spork handle. The two parts were now open and Leonard could see the different components that made up the inside of a Starfleet communicator. It had been a long time since he'd seen one like that, and it looked more complicated then he remembered. He leaned in closer and Jim pointed to a small part hidden and nestled in the upper right corner.

"That's the filtering module, Bones. See? It's nestled behind the microphone module to protect it. It's very sensitive."

Leonard peered at the module. It was very tiny and well protected by the larger microphone module. "So, I have to go behind the mike module and what? Disconnect it, pull it out?"

"No. First we have to remove the microphone module; that module just pops right out. I can do that part if you want. We'll put it back when you've disabled the filtering module. Scotty has the engineers check the microphone modules on every communicator monthly to be sure they're all in perfect working order. It's just a matter of popping one out and putting a new one in when they start to fail. Removing it is going to be the easy part."

"I had no idea Scotty and his staff did that every month."

"Every month, religiously, and Scotty is a stickler about his engineers doing it. Says someone's life may depend on one of those mike modules."

"Well, he's right about that. Okay, you'll pop out the microphone module, then what?"

"Then you'll take the micro-suture, gently place it above and to the right of the filtering module there," he pointed to it, "turn on the micro-suture and burn out that thin wire which you can barely see there." Jim used the spork to point to the almost invisible wire. "You do the same on the opposite side. After the wire is dead and detached we get it out of the way, then you gently place the micro-suture on top of the filtering module, turn the suture back on and disable the module by burning it out. The communicators all have a failsafe; if the wire goes for some reason, it will still function until the filtering module is disabled. Fleet engineers did a fine job designing the communicators because they're so important. They're being upgraded or redesigned constantly."

"How will we know if it's really disabled?"

"After we put the microphone module back in, the communicator will squeak in protest. No filtering module in there means it's going to make a lot of noise once we put the microphone module back in place and that's exactly what we want, right?"

Leonard nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay, you go ahead and pop the microphone module out," he said, picking up the micro-suture between his thumb and forefinger. _Alright, Leonard stay focused, steady, and calm_. _This is no more difficult than repairing a deep wound_ , he told himself. _Easier really, no chance of hurting someone as you suture. You can do this, don't be nervous._

Jim took the spork and with the edge of the handle, popped the microphone module right out. It came away easily and fell on the soft sleeping bag. "Okay, let's put this in your med bag, Bones. It'll be safe there until it's time to put it back." He picked it up carefully and Leonard opened his med bay field bag so Jim could place in the micro-suture padded case.

Jim looked at Leonard. "Ready? Just relax, you'll be fine." Jim looked completely confident and relaxed. Leonard wished he felt the same.

"Ready."

Leonard moved the lantern closer and looked down at the area he was going to work in. It was a very reduced area, but he'd worked on much smaller areas in bodies before. His attention and focus narrowed until everything faded away; the thunder, the lightning flashes, even Jim, except for his hand where the spork was pointing. Jim pointed to the tiny spot where the wire was attached and Leonard turned on the micro-suture; his hands were rock steady as he brought it down and touched the tiny wire. There was a small hiss, the micro-suture flared for a second and one end of the wire was free. Jim pointed to the other end and Leonard did it again. The tiny, thin, wire fell free and into the inside of communicator.

Jim huffed a breath. "Good work, Bones!" Leonard turned off the micro-suture and rotated his tense shoulders. He flexed his fingers.

Jim grinned. "Steadiest hands on the ship," he said. "Let me get the wire out." He picked up the communicator, turned it upside down and shook it gently. The tiny wire fell on the sleeping bag.

"Damn, it's really small!"

"Yeah, on purpose, so it's very hard to damage. Do you need a break before the next part? It's a lot more difficult to see just where you have to touch the micro-suture to the filtering module without damaging the rest of the communicator. You need a cup of tea or coffee first?"

"Nah, I'm good." Leonard leaned in and peered at the module. "Show me the spot."

With the spork edge, Jim pointed to a very tiny area on the top right side of the module. "Right there. Touch that spot there and it's fried."

Leonard nodded. "I see it." He turned on the micro-suture again. "You just hold the lantern directly above the communicator, but out of the way of my hand."

Jim lifted the lantern and it cast its light directly into the communicator. Leonard bent forward so he could see exactly where to put the micro-suture. He turned the communicator slightly toward him with one hand, and with the other brought up the micro-suture over the communicator. In one smooth motion, he touched it to the spot Jim had pointed to. Again, there was a slight hiss and the suturing instrument flared slightly. It was done. Leonard looked up. "That's it I think."

Jim's hazel eyes gleamed in the lantern light. "That's it. Now let's see if it's disabled." He got out the microphone module from the field bag and carefully popped it back in. There was an immediate high screech and he hurriedly turned down the volume.

"You did it, Bones! Well done. I'll be able to message the ship now." He checked his chronometer. "It's too early yet; it's only the tail end of Beta shift. I want to wait well into Gamma shift when everyone is sleepy and bored." He looked at Leonard's tired eyes. "You don't have to wait up with me. You look beat; you can get some sleep if you want to. I still have to figure out what to say in the message. Morse code, but still understandable to Uhura."

"Jim," Leonard told him. "We're in this together. I sleep when you sleep, not before. Besides, you're like a furnace inside that sleeping bag. It's a lot warmer with you in it with me."

Jim laughed. "Okay, you stubborn Georgian. Let's have some coffee while we wait and I think up my message."

"Good idea." Leonard stretched his back and fingers. "I'll fix the coffee while you put the communicator back together. We'll sit and think what to say that won't make sense to the Romulans even if they do hear somethin'." He got out the mugs filled them with water, heated the water with his phaser and stirred in the coffee essence. He set Jim's mug down beside him and watched as Jim quickly and efficiently put the communicator back together again. They sat and sipped their coffee thinking about what to say in the message. It had to be very short, as few letters as possible, but still understandable to Uhura and Spock. They tried many different combinations of letters to use and discarded every one of them. Nothing was short enough to be hidden by the squeaks, hisses, and squawks of the communicator. Jim hefted the communicator in his hand.

"Alright, it's time. It's well into Gamma shift, I'm tired and I know you are too. Let's decide what to say and let's do it. We've tried so many letter combinations they're starting to blur together."

Yeah," Leonard yawned. "I am pretty tired." He inclined his head. "Storms over, Jimmy. Good thing too, I really need to use the latrine. Coffee does that," he smirked.

"Yeah, me too. You go first, take the thermal blanket, it's damned cold out there, and take the flashlight." He got out of the sleeping bag to remove some of the bigger rocks from the entrance. Leonard crawled through and Jim picked up the communicator again. He'd decided on the message. Once Bones came back he'd send it.

Leonard soon crawled back through the entrance and handed Jim the blanket and wipes. "Your turn."

"In a minute. I've decided on the message and worked out the code. Look here." He used the spork and scraped the message on the hard dirt floor of the cave.

2 . . _ _ _

R . _ .

O - - -

K - . -

Leonard blinked figuring it out, then he looked in amusement at Jim. "Got it. 'Two are okay'. That's clever. Think Uhura and Spock will understand it?"

Jim looked confidently at him. "I'm sure Uhura will. Spock will too. Let me send it now and then it's straight to bed." So hidden among all the hisses and loud squawks of the unfiltered communicator, the dots and dashes of Jim's Morse code went out into space and to the waiting ears of the anxious crew of _Enterprise_.

Jim stood, stretched, and crawled out of the cave. The latrine awaited him and then it was time for sleep. He gathered the thermal blanket close around him, it was bitterly cold now, and as he walked to the latrine, he looked up at the now clear sky lit by brilliant stars and the two moons. His ship was out there; hopefully they would be more at ease now that their message had gone out.

When he came back to the cave, Bones had already rinsed and put away the mugs, retrieved the micro-suture and put it back in its case. The communicators were close to hand by the sleeping bag. Everything was ready for bed. Jim placed all the stones back to close the entrance of the cave just in case the coded message attracted attention and there were Romulan visitors in the morning.

Elated by their success at sending their coded message to the ship, the two men got into the warmth of the sleeping bags, turned off the lantern, put the thermal blankets over their legs, and promptly went to asleep.


	18. Chapter 18

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 18**

" **Carry a message to Garcia!"**

 _ **Essay by Elbert Hubbard**_

 _ **1899**_

 **On the Ship**

Spock and the Command crew logged off of Alpha shift. Uhura had sent the Morse code message through the enhanced communication array. Scotty and she declared with absolute certainty that it would reach the Captain and Dr. McCoy. Now they just had to wait to see if they would answer.

Spock left orders with Uhura's Beta shift relief that if there was even a beep from Perseus, it would be flagged and recorded. They would be called immediately to come to the bridge, no matter what the hour. Uhura, at her fiercest, faced her relief to underscore Commander Spock's orders. "Don't you take your eyes off that board, or remove that earpiece under any circumstances, Ferron. If you hear anything, anything at all from the Perseus vicinity, flag it and record it immediately, no matter how insignificant you think it may be. You understand, Ensign?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Uhura." Ensign Ferron nodded solemnly.

Uhura sighed softly and followed Spock to the lift. She hated to give up her post, but Mr. Spock was very strict about logging off duty on time unless it was a red alert. He was much stricter about than their workaholic Captain who often worked 12 to 14 hour shifts, much to Dr. McCoy's consternation.

"Please do not be concerned, Lieutenant Uhura. I will brief the Gamma shift communication officer myself. Every care will be taken that any noise coming from Perseus will be heard and recorded. I will also give orders that you are to be called immediately."

"Thank you, Mr. Spock. The signal from Perseus may be well and truly hidden. Knowing the Captain, he'll disable the filtering module on his comm so that the code will be well hidden in all the quantum noise. It will probably sound like the static and interference from a distant ion storm."

"I understand your concern, Lt. Uhura, and I share it, which is why I will keep a very close eye on your replacements."

The lift deposited them in the mess and they went to their usual table to find Sulu and Chekov already there eating their dinner.

"Gentlemen." Spock placed his plomeek soup and salad on the table. He still looked as pristinely neat as always, even after a long Alpha shift.

"Mr. Spock," the two men answered politely.

There was total silence at the table from the three senior officers instead of the usual banter and lively conversation on various topics.

Spock was not always cognisant of every variation of human moods, except for Dr. McCoy's moods which were always readily understood by one and all, but even he could see that there was a definite pall over the command crew. He looked at Uhura, usually the most serene and even tempered of the four senior crew. She was never moody, irritable, out of sorts, or angry. She, Spock always thought, was the exact opposite of Dr. McCoy, who tended to be anything but even tempered or serene.

He set his fork down and looked appraisingly at the three bent heads. "May I inquire why the three of you are behaving in a manner very unlike yourselves? Indeed, I have never seen you so silent at the dinner table. Is there something amiss of which I am not aware?"

"No, no, Mr. Spock," Uhura hastened to assure him. "I think we're just tense wondering if the message got through, if the Captain understood it, if the Romulans didn't, if they're going to try to decipher it."

"I see," said Spock. He looked steadily and composedly at the three officers. "First of all, I am confident of your skills, Lieutenant Uhura, therefore, I am certain that the message was received by the Captain. Second, I am certain that if what you told me about yours and the Captain's knowledge of codes, it will be, as you would say, 'a piece of cake', for him to decipher it. Third, the code is so obscure and archaic that I sincerely doubt the Romulan's would even notice the message, much less try to decipher it."

Three pairs of eyes looked at him hopefully. "Are you certain, Mr. Spock?"

Spock nodded solemnly. "Yes, Lieutenant. As certain as I can be without empirical evidence."

There was a noticeable relaxation in all three of his dinner companions. They also began to eat their dinner with increased enthusiasm.

The four of them parted ways after dinner. Spock reassured Uhura again that he and she would be recalled to the bridge immediately by the Beta or Gamma communication officers should any anomalous comm sounds come from the planet. He also admonished her to get some sleep, since she might have to report for duty again later during ship's night.

On the bridge, the Beta shift communication officer reported dead silence from the vicinity of the planet when Spock checked in with him mid-way through the shift. He checked in again at shift's end to hear the same thing, and when the Gamma shift communication officer logged on, Spock reiterated his Beta shift orders to Ensign Thorne. "Do not hesitate to call me, Ensign, should you hear anything anomalous from Perseus."

"Aye, Sir."

Spock did not undress for sleep. He seldom did when he had the conn, knowing he might be called to the bridge at any time. He did, however, light his meditation lamp to begin his nightly meditation routine. He laid down his small meditation rug and knelt in front of the meditation lamp. He usually did this before he slept and after whatever shift he was on. Tonight, he had delayed his meditation so he could check in with both Beta and Gamma shift's communication officers.

Spock admitted to himself that he was concerned (he did not say worried, since Vulcans do not worry) for the Captain and the doctor. He had confidence in the Captain's ability to overcome extremely difficult situations. All too often the Captain had been on missions which demanded that he use all of his formidable survival skills and he had indeed survived. He could not, however, say the same for the doctor's proficiency in survival skills. On the contrary. It seemed to Spock, that sometimes the doctor deliberately put himself at risk for the purpose of helping someone else. Both Spock, as the doctor's immediate supervisor, and the Captain had addressed this issue during his bi-annual evaluation conferences. Dr. McCoy's response was always the same. "I'm a doctor, it's what I do." It had caused no small amount of frustration in both Spock and the Captain trying to make the doctor understand that he was far too valuable to the health and welfare of the crew to take such risks. Dr. McCoy's behavior had not changed in the slightest. Spock knew the Captain had given up, but Spock was not quite ready to, as Jim put it, 'throw in the towel'. Be that as it may, he knew that Jim would watch over, and protect, the doctor to the best of his formidable abilities.

He cast aside all these troublesome thoughts as his mind descended deeper and deeper into his mediation trance until his surroundings faded away and time lost its meaning. The insistent chime of his room comm drew him back to the here and now. He rose smoothly from his position on the floor. "Spock here."

"Ensign Thorne here, Mr. Spock."

"Yes, Ensign."

"We have something that's come in from the planet Perseus, Sir. I've tagged and recorded it as instructed."

"I will be there shortly, Ensign. Please wake Lt. Uhura and ask her to report to the bridge."

"Aye, Sir."

The lift deposited him on the bridge and Ensign Thorne handed him the recording chip immediately. "I will be in the Captain's Ready Room, Ensign. Please send Lt. Uhura in immediately. Also continue to monitor the planet carefully."

"Yes, Mr. Spock."

Spock sat with the recoding chip in his hand. He did not want to attempt to decipher the code without Lt. Uhura being present. Although he was familiar with Morse code from his diligent study of the history of his mother's home world, he was by no means proficient in decoding it. The Ready Room opened and not only did Lt Uhura come in, but she was accompanied by Commander Scott, Lt. Sulu and Ensign Chekov."

"I hope you don't mind, Mr. Spock, but I took the liberty of waking up the senior crew for this. I felt we should all listen to the coded message, if that's what this is."

"Of course, Lieutenant," he acquiesced, nodding to the three men. "All input is valuable." He handed Uhura the sound chip. "Ensign Thorne assured me he captured every sound bite from the planet."

"He's a very competent officer," she said. "I have complete confidence in my entire department, Mr. Spock."

She fingered the sound chip and inserted it into the Ready Room computer slot, then turned up the sound. "Computer play sound recording."

The sudden hiss, squawks, and whistles sounded loud to the five officers. Uhura picked up her padd and stylus, tilted her head and listened intently. The recording finished and she started it again. After a few seconds she stopped it and made a notation on her padd. This continued until the recording finished again.

"I canna' make heads or tails out of this, lassie," Scotty muttered, face perplexed.

"Me neither," Sulu said. "Can you, Ny?"

"I think I've got it," Uhura answered. "It's very well hidden." She grinned. "Trust the Captain to figure out how to send a message so well hidden that even I'd have a hard time finding it. Okay, I'm sending it to everyone's padd, and then I'll decode it for you."

The three men looked down at what she sent them.

"Vat does it mean?" Chekov asked puzzled. To him, the dots and dashes were meaningless.

"Dot, dot, dash, dash, dash, 2; dot, dash, dot R; dash, dash, dash, O; dash, dot, dash, K;

 **2 . . _ _ _**

 **R . _ .**

 **O - - -**

 **K - . -**

She looked triumphantly at the men. " _Two Are Okay_. The two of them are fine!"

At her words, there was a noticeable decrease in tension in the room. Scotty smiled and Sulu and Chekov gave each other a high five. "That is very gratifying to hear, Lieutenant," Spock said serenely. This news would go a long way in boosting morale among the crew, he thought. He also had to admit to a definite release of tension that he had not even realized he carried and that his meditation had not diminished.

"Mr. Scott, we must once again train our long range sensors on the planet. We will resume our previous plans of traveling for one hour at 1/8 C and sitting becalmed for two hours while we train our long range sensors on the planet. I would prefer to wait until Alpha shift to begin. I want the four of you, and I will also include myself, to return to your cabins for sleep. "

He raised a hand to stop the stem of protests that he knew would be forthcoming. "We must be especially alert from now on. That will only happen if our bodies have had adequate rest and repose. We must know immediately when the Romulan ship departs from Perseus. I anticipate that will be quite soon. While we do not know for certain what it was that interested the Romulans on the planet, from our own scans, we do know there is nothing of geological significance or importance there, and that is what most exploratory ships are searching for." Spock stood and pulled his blue tunic down. "You are all dismissed." He waited until the four officers trailed reluctantly out the door before he closed down the computer and exited the Ready Room.

"Mr. Thoran. I will now return to my cabin. Please continue to monitor the planet." He turned to the Gamma shift duty officer, Lt. Hannity, who had the con. She was the most experienced of the junior bridge officers. "Lieutenant, we will stay becalmed until Alpha shift. Our long range sensors will remain fully engaged. If there are any signs of movement from any ship, comm me immediately."

"Aye, Sir."

Spock took the lift to his cabin. This time he did undress and put on his Starfleet issued pajamas. He anticipated no further interruptions from Gamma shift and mindful that his sleep was always monitored by Dr. McCoy, closed his eyes and slept.

 **On the planet**

Jim's internal clock woke him at his usual time **.** This time he woke without the restless sensation that he needed to be back on his ship. This time he felt a surety that it wouldn't be long before he was. Their success in both receiving the ship's message and answering it, went a long way in calming down his anxiety. It was, as usual, bitterly cold, his face felt frozen and he scooted carefully closer to Bones' warmth and down further into the sleeping bag to cover his nose. He lay still, savoring the warmth, glancing over to the doctor. He was still fast asleep, his breaths regular, interrupted now and then by a few soft snores. Jim's worry about how Bones was handling the death of the Romulan warrior had also diminished. The doctor seemed to have come to terms with the fact that, in reality, it had been an accident and more importantly, he had saved Jim's life.

Jim lay there and considered the implications of sending their message to the _Enterprise_. Today would be the test. He and Bones would have to stay very alert once outside the cave. If the message had been overheard and tagged as an anomaly by the Romulan comm officer, there might well be an investigatory shuttle visit to the planet. If it had been ignored as quantum noise then all would be well. This morning he and Bones would leave the cave, eat breakfast and wait to see what would happen. Jim's instincts told him that nothing would come from their message. It had been very well disguised, the code archaic and well obscured within the hisses and squawks of the communicator without the filtering module. His guts also told him that the Romulan Captain had probably had quite enough of this planet. He was sure that the loss of his crewman had, as it would have done on any ship, cast a pall on the other crew members. Leaving Perseus's orbit, leaving the place where their crewman had been killed, would be the best thing the Captain could do for the morale of his crew.

Bones grunted and opened his eyes. "Mornin', Jim," he murmured, and yawned hugely.

"Go back to sleep, Bones. It's very early yet, and it's still damned cold. I was thinking of grabbing a bit more sleep myself," Jim added softly. "There's really no reason we need to get up so early."

" 'Kay, I'ma still sleepy," Leonard murmured and closed his eyes again. Jim did the same, willing himself to go back to sleep. He wanted it to be bright daylight outside so he would have the longest range of sight possible with his field binoculars. Also, in another couple of hours it wouldn't be so cold and they could have breakfast outside.

The second time Jim woke, it was noticeably warmer. He lifted off the thermal blanket and sleeping bag to scoot out; he really had to use the latrine. He moved a couple of the smaller rocks and carefully peered outside. All was quiet and the sun was shining brightly, so he removed more rocks. He put the binoculars around his neck and also grabbed his phaser to keep in his hand. This time, he was taking no chances. The slight noise he made woke Bones and he sat up groggily.

"Jim, what's goin' on?" He asked blearily.

"Nothing, Bones. I'm just checking the outside perimeter; I need to use the latrine."

"I do too. I'll come with you and help you move the rocks then stand guard. Then you can stand guard when it's my turn." He grabbed his phaser, the sanitizing wipes and followed Jim out of the cave; they quickly covered the cave entrance back up.

Leonard stood guard, scanning the area carefully, while Jim used the latrine . Jim did the same for him. This time they were taking no chances with any unwelcome surprises. They replaced the rocks keeping their phasers out. Back at the cave, Jim checked the area carefully while Leonard fixed their coffee. "Jim," he called out softly. "You want a real meal or ration bars?"

"Let's splurge with a real meal. I have a feeling we won't be here much longer."

"From your mouth to God's ears, Jimmy. Anything moving out there?"

"Nothing. I think we can chance a small fire behind the lookout rock. If the shuttle comes around we'll hear it from a long way off," Jim said, jumping down from the rock.

Leonard grinned. "A fire will feel a lot more like a camping trip, right?"

Jim laughed. "This wasn't much of a camping trip was it?" He sobered. "I'm really sorry, Bones. My whole intent was for us to enjoy the outdoors, to relax and set aside Sick Bay and Bridge stress for just a few days. It didn't work out that way, did it?"

"No it didn't. But even if it didn't, it was still a mighty interestin' experience, and I'd rather be down here with you than up on the ship worrying myself to death about you. At least being here I can keep an eye on you, and," he added, "we have gathered good information about this planet; for good or ill Spock will get his report. You really think the ship will come soon?" He looked dubious.

"Yeah I do. I think the Romulans will soon be on their way and I know Spock and Scotty have the long range sensors trained at maximum setting on Perseus. They'll know as soon as the Romulan ship heads out. Now come on, let me make a fire and we'll have a fine breakfast. Then I think a bath is in order; we'll make double use of the fire." He grinned, his hazel eyes twinkling. "I wouldn't want for us to beam back to the ship all stinky and dirty."

"Hell no! I can see Spock wrinkling his nose at us as soon as we step off the transporter padd. You know how he always says that Vulcans don't sweat, and he's a vegetarian, so according to him he never smells bad."

Jim chuckled at Bones disgusted look. "Well, you'd know better than I would, Bones, you've had him in the Sick Bay close up and personal after an away mission and for checkups. Has he smelled bad?"

"No," Bones admitted sourly, "and it's damn annoying, that's what it is."

Jim's laughter rang out as he went to light the fire.


	19. Chapter 19

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 19**

" **We shall not cease from exploration**

 **And the end of all our exploring**

 **Will be to arrive where we started**

 **And know the place for the first time."**

 **T. S. Eliot**

 **On the planet**

After their coffee and breakfast, Jim climbed on the lookout rock to check the perimeter for movement. Not a Romulan in sight, he thought happily. He had no way of knowing for sure, but maybe they really had left orbit and gone on their way. The sun shone brightly, the sky was a bright blue, without a single cloud and it was already pleasantly warm. In other words it was a perfect morning for a bath.

"Dr. Bones McCoy, if my calculations are correct, it's Saturday morning ship's time and therefore, as in the old west, it's time for a bath."

Bones snorted. "Can you imagine how stinky everyone was in those days? Spock would've had a fit!"

Jim chuckled. "He sure would have. We might as well wash our clothes too. It's a beautiful sunny day and they'll dry quickly. It'll be nice to be clean and to have clean clothes on us when we get back on the ship."

"I'll get the pots, water, and soap, Jim. You can go first if you want, and I'll keep watch."

"I'll build up the fire a bit; it'll heat the water faster. There's not a living soul anywhere that I could see; let's keep our fingers crossed it stays that way." Jim drew a deep breath, already feeling lighter at the certainty he felt that the Romulans were gone. He put a few more twigs on the fire and watched critically as the rising white smoke disappeared quickly. It was almost invisible as it rose up above the lookout rock.

Bones came out of the cave, his hands and arms full with the pots, water, wipes, the biodegradable soap, and their other set of clean t- shirts, briefs, and shirts. Jim filled the two pots with water and put them on the fire to heat. He stripped off his clothes and set them aside to wash afterwards. Leonard handed him the bathing supplies and observed the lightly tanned sturdy body in front of him with a doctor's critical eye. Leonard knew Jim's body as well as he knew his own. He had, at one time or another, healed almost every part of that body. He knew every scar, every broken bone that he'd repaired, every mole, how much Jim should weigh, the optimum ratio of muscle to fat under Jim's fair skin, his allergies, his pain tolerance, his propensity to sunburn, everything. Right now, Leonard could see that Jim had lost some weight. His muscles were more clearly defined and the small love handles that sometimes appeared when he was stressed and over ate were completely gone. He could even see that Jim's ribs were more prominent. Well, once back on the ship, he'd make sure Jim put on a couple of more pounds. As hard as he worked, Jim could not afford to be underweight.

Jim grinned at him. "Well, did I pass my physical, Dr. McCoy? And can we count this one as my next physical?"

Leonard laughed. "You wish," he said. "You've lost some weight, Jim, so when we get back I'll allow some desserts with some higher calories, just for a few days, though," he added, "so don't get too excited about Chef's desserts."

"Yes, Dr. McCoy, I know," Jim scrubbed himself down quickly, and rinsed off with clean water. He threw away the dirty water as well as the rinse water, then quickly put on more fresh water to heat for Bones. "Your turn, Bones. I'll keep watch." He pulled on his clean underwear, t-shirt and pants and stood close by with his phaser out.

Leonard stripped quickly and began to wash. He looked up to see that he was being subjected to the same critical scrutiny that he'd given Jim. "You've lost weight too, Bones, and you can't afford it. You're thin enough as it is."

Leonard sighed as he scrubbed. "I know I have, Jim. Those instant meals just have the minimal amount of calories to keep a body goin'. Fleet doesn't want us to starve, but we won't get fat on them either. When we get back, I'll join you for some of those desserts." He finished and threw out the dirty water. "Let's get to washing our clothes so they can dry quickly in this beautiful, warm sunlight."

They washed and rinsed their clothes and set them out to dry. They cleaned up their washing site, then Jim climbed on top of the lookout rock again to check the entire area. Again, there was no sign of the Romulan shuttle; in fact there was no movement of any kind in the sky, in the distant plain, in the woods, not anywhere. Jim drew a breath of relief as he climbed down. "Nothing, Bones. I really think they're gone. The hard part is going to be waiting for the ship to realize it and come get us. We'll keep a sharp eye out the rest of the day, but I really think they've left orbit."

"Good! Let's take care of some housekeeping then. Now that we're clean again, we should air out the sleeping bags and the thermal blankets. I'd also like for us to go through our supplies and sort things out, see how we are on food, coffee and tea."

"Good idea. The ship is probably a couple of days out. I have no way of knowing how far out they traveled, and until they know the War Bird has really left the Perseus orbit, they won't come get us." He looked around. "We can spread the sleeping bags out on the ground here in the sun. I'll lay the tarp down first, open them and spread them out. You get all our food supplies and we'll count everything. We still have plenty of water, right?"

Bones snorted. "The way it storms here every damn night, we're certainly not going to run out of water. We're fine with the water we have, but we can always collect more whenever you want."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea, we used quite a bit bathing and washing our clothes, and the weather here is so strange who knows if the rains will suddenly stop. And we'll probably need another bath before the ship gets here."

"Good point, Captain. Always thinkin' ahead you are. That's why you're a mighty Starship Captain, and I'm just a lowly CMO."

Jim snorted and threw him an ' _are you kidding me_ ' glance at the blatant exaggeration. As CMO, Bones had the power to override any senior officer's decisions, including the Captain's, if he deemed it necessary for medical reasons. It was, in Jim's opinion, the only super power on board ship, and Bones had wielded it a couple of times with Jim, Spock, and even Scotty.

Bones grinned, reading Jim's mind easily. "If it'll make you feel better, we'll collect more water this evening."

They spread out the tarp and placed the sleeping bags and thermal blankets to air in the fresh air and brilliant sunshine, then Leonard brought out all their supplies from the cave. They sat down on the ground in front of the cave, and, for the first time since they'd found the cave, there was no urgency to what they were doing. Bones counted the ration bars and Jim counted their instant meals, coffee essence, tea, sugar, and cream packets.

"We've still got enough ration bars to feed an army," Leonard told him, after he finished counting, blue eyes amused. "Trust fleet to ensure that the worst tastin', dry as toast eatables have the highest number count. What about the rest, Jimbo?"

"We're okay. We're running a little low on coffee, but there's plenty of tea, cream and sugar. We've got enough hot meals for the two of us eating them three times a day, for the next 4/5 days. More, if we have the ration bars for breakfast. I hate to cut back on our coffee intake, though; we both need that morning and evening cup."

Leonard sighed. "I sure do, can't really wake up without it. Well, we best eat the hated ration bars for breakfast, then. Who knows how long it'll take the ship to get here."

"Knowing, Spock and Scotty, the ship will avoid leaving a warp trail if possible. I think it'll take at least two days of travel, maybe three, even at warp 4, if they know for sure that the Romulans are really gone."

"That long?" To Jim's ear, Bones' voice sounded totally dismayed.

"I'm afraid so, Bones. I'm really sorry." Jim hated to disappoint Bones, but the reality was that the ship's return voyage for them would not be a quick one. Jim's hazel eyes looked slightly worried as he looked at Bones.

Leonard mentally chastised himself. He would not be a party to worrying Jim more than he already was. "S'all right, Jimmy. I'm just grousing. Don't pay any attention to me. Hey, did you finish your other half of the chocolate bar?" he asked to change the subject.

Jim's eyes lightened. "I forgot all about it, thanks for reminding me. You know what? Ma used to do this thing for Pop and he always gave Sam and me a taste when we were kids, then later, when we started drinking coffee she'd make it for all of us." His eyes softened as they always did when he talked about his father.

"What was it she did?"

"I'll fix some for us to show you. Hold on just a minute." He got more water and the coffee essence and fixed the coffee. He got out the chocolate bar and once the coffee had steeped, he broke the piece in half and put each piece in the hot coffee. He stirred it briskly, added the creamer to the mugs, stirred it some more, and handed it to Bones. "Drink it up, Bones. Tell me how you like it."

Leonard took a cautious sip of the beverage. His blue eyes widened. "This is delicious, Jim! Why haven't we done this on the ship? We might even make Spock a coffee drinker if we added chocolate to it."

Jim laughed. "I just hadn't ever thought of it. But adding chocolate would sure make him mellow."

"If we make him any more mellow, he'll be catatonic," Leonard grinned, then laughed at the thought of the prim and proper Spock made slightly tipsy by the chocolate.

Jim elbowed him, grinning. "Behave, Bones McCoy. He's your immediate supervisor and he signs your bi-annual evaluations."

"There is that," Leonard told him trying, without much success, to suppress the evil grin on his face.

It was with regret that they finished their choco-coffee and checked their clothes. They were completely dry. Leonard sniffed his and smelled nothing but soap and clean sunshine. It felt good to be clean in body, to have clean clothes, and to see that the blue skies above them were free of, he hoped with all his heart, the Romulan shuttle.

"What shall we do now, Jim? I might shave my scruffy face a little later on, but if you don't have anything in mind for us to do right now, I think I'll sit down and write my report on the planet for Spock and the Science department. I really haven't had time to organize my notes and write out a coherent report. Will my communicator still work on its "write" mode?"

Jim nodded. "It should work fine, Bones, we just can't use it to send regular messages any more, and no, I don't have anything in mind to do. If you're going to work I might as well work on my report to Admiral Komack and the sector chief. They're not going to be happy to find out there was a Romulan Warbird doing reconnaissance while we were in this sector." Jim sighed. No matter how he worded it, Komack was going to find a way to blame him for their extended exile on this planet. Komack was a political hawk, a ruthless, ambitious, man who would like nothing better than to agitate the Romulans toward a confrontation. Only the C in C himself, Admiral Nogura, kept him in line and on a tight leash. Jim stood by his orders for his ship to leave their Captain and CMO on Perseus 2 in order to avoid confrontation with the Romulan War Bird, and Admiral Nogura, who detested Komack, would ultimately review his report and agree with Jim's decision. Of course that would make Komack even angrier, and ultimately, he would find some way to get even with Jim. Spock had, on several different occasions, threatened to file an official abuse of power complaint about Komack's very evident and blatant hostility toward Jim and the _Enterprise_ in general, but Jim was holding off until the time was right. He knew that time was coming sooner rather than later.

But for now, the two men sat contently, their backs to the cave wall, phasers at the ready, and worked on their respective reports.

 **On the ship**

Alpha shift had begun and everyone was busy at their stations when Spock toggled his comm. "Mr. Scott we are on schedule to begin our slow journey to Perseus. We will travel for one hour at 1/8 C then lie becalmed for two hours, while your enhanced long range sensors do their search."

"Aye, Commander. Engineering is ready, Sir."

"Very well, on my mark, Mr. Scott. Three, two, one, mark."

The stately ship began its slow flight toward Perseus, heading back to their Captain and their CMO. Uhura sat at her station, her face intent; she was practically immobile, waiting for any kind of signal from the Captain, or chatter from the bridge of the War Bird.

At 1000, on Spock's order, the ship came to a full stop. Scotty implemented his long range sensor protocol for the full two hours the ship would be becalmed. The Alpha crew sat with ill concealed impatience (except for Spock, whose usual impassivity was unruffled) while Scotty trained his sensors toward Perseus.

After the two hours, Scotty toggled his comm. "Mr. Spock, there is nothing to report, Sir."

"Very well, Mr. Scott, let us proceed as before."

"Aye, commencing on our route, impulse engines only," came the disembodied voice of Scotty.

Once more, the mighty ship crawled along their designated route toward Perseus for one hour. Once more, the ship came to a full stop. Once more, Uhura sat immobile waiting, waiting, for any sound from the War Bird. Scotty engaged the long range sensors and they sat for the mandated two hours. Again nothing. During their next one hour of travel, Spock dismissed the senior crew for lunch despite their protests. He sat supervising their lunch reliefs and at the end of the hour, the three senior crew returned from lunch. Scotty refused to be dismissed. He informed Spock, that he would eat a sandwich at his station. The ship came to a full stop again, and Uhura sat at her station once more. After 45 minutes, she turned her chair, exactly at the same time that Scotty called the bridge.

"Mr. Spock," came from the voices of both officers. Spock held up his hand for Uhura to wait. "Yes, Mr. Scott?"

"Long range sensors detect ship movement away from Perseus.'Tis the War Bird, Sir. They appear to be leaving their Perseus orbit."

Spock glanced at Uhura. She nodded her head in agreement. "One moment, Mr. Scott. Yes, Lieutenant?"

"There's chatter on the comm, Sir. It's Romulan chatter. The universal translator confirms that their communication officer is logging their departure away from Perseus." Her beautiful face glowed with happiness, and Sulu and Chekov momentarily dropped bridge decorum to exchange high fives with each other.

Spock ignored the small display, understanding the need for human beings to express their relief from worry and tension in one form or another. His own demeanor, however, remained impassive. "Excellent. Mr. Scott, we will remain here becalmed for the next few hours, until Beta shift commences and we are certain the Romulans have indeed left the Perseus solar system. Once we are certain, we will approach Perseus 2 as Mr. Chekov suggested, from the opposite side of the planet. As we discussed during the briefing, the mass of the planet, its two moons, and the belt of asteroids will hide us. It will also block any possible backward sensor readings from the War Bird. This will be our safest approach. I realize it is also the most conservative and the slowest trajectory toward the planet, but we cannot chance that the Romulan sensors could pick up our warp signature."

"Aye, Mr. Spock. I concur. We'll take longer to retrieve the Captain and Dr. McCoy, but we canna' leave a warp signature trail, and our lady does leave a bonny big trail."

Spock sighed. Another colorful adjective from Mr. Spock to add to his ongoing list.

"At this time, I'd like the senior crew to go off duty. Please notify Beta shift personnel that you will be trading the rest of your shift hours with them. I will need you at your duty stations when we resume our course to Perseus 2. If possible sometime during your shift, I would like to send another coded signal advising the Captain we are on our way back to them."

"Yes, Mr. Spock. I'll send another coded message whenever you'd like me to. The Captain and Dr. McCoy will be very relieved we're on our way back to them." She smiled as she notified the Beta crew of the change in their duty rotation. Their reliefs arrived promptly, and as soon as they took their duty stations, the three senior officers logged out and left the bridge.

"What about you, Mr. Spock?" Uhura asked him on her way out.

"I, too, will take a short rest, Lieutenant. Lt. Hannity will relieve me in a few minutes. I will, of course, advise her that we will all return to the bridge for Beta shift when we are ready to resume course for Perseus 2."

And with that, the _Enterprise_ Bridge settled in to wait until they could make their way to Perseus 2 to retrieve their Captain and CMO and bring them home.


	20. Chapter 20

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 20**

" **Home again, home again, jiggety-jig**

 **Home again, home again, jiggety-jog"**

 **Mother Goose**

Jim and Leonard spent the rest of the day working on their respective reports. The warm sunshine, the quiet and peace surrounding them went a long way towards lessening the hyper vigilance that had been the rule since their arrival on Perseus 2. At midmorning, Leonard brewed them some tea and they continued their work. Leonard finally finished his report and closed his comm write mode. "Spock's not gonna' be too happy with my report," he told Jim. "There hasn't been much opportunity or time to explore the area. I included the sighting of the mama feline and her kits, the scan I did on the minerals of this hill, the flora and fauna around the lake, the weird weather patterns we've seen, and my scan on that stream in the forest. Not much information on a brand new planet for the Science department to dig into."

"It couldn't be helped, Bones. You did the best you could under the circumstances. I don't think Spock will care all that much."

"Jim, somehow, he'll find a way to make some remarks about how Vulcans would have run to the forest between Romulan visits, and evaded the scans because they have copper based blood or somethin' like that, how Vulcans would have scanned every single damn rock on this hill and found some unforeseen precious mineral the Federation cain't live without, how he would have catalogued every single piece of grass and flower down by the lake, how he would have befriended the mama feline, tamed her and he would've gotten to pet the kits, because you know, how felines love Vulcans. He'll get that look on his face, you know the one, since he really only has two, the man has the emotional range of a rock, and he'll raise his eyebrow and I'll feel dumb as grass. Again."

Jim sputtered, then stared at him trying to school his face into sobriety. Bones' grouse about Spock had more bite to it than usual. "Bones, I thought all those the arguments and discussions you have with Spock were mostly in fun? Do you really think he's that critical of you and your work?" His hazel eyes were now very sober, as he looked at his friend. Had Bones been feeling disparaged, belittled or unappreciated because of Spock's comments during their disagreements? He gave an internal sigh. Spock could be obtuse sometimes; human interaction and discourse, human feelings, and reactions, sometimes completely eluded him. But, Jim was sure, he would never knowingly hurt Bones' feelings. And since Spock's feelings couldn't be hurt, Bones was only going down a one way street with his comments and rejoinders to the Vulcan.

Leonard looked a little shamefaced. "For the most part our arguments are in fun. At least on my side. But sometimes Spock really gets to me with his comments. He does everything better, quicker, perfectly. He's stronger, he heals himself, and his intelligence rivals that computer we have on the ship. That giant Vulcan brain of his runs rings around me, around everyone else on the ship, except for you, Jim. He can't seem to run rings around you; really nobody can," Leonard added thoughtfully.

"Bones," Jim protested gently, ignoring the compliment. "We all have our gifts. You can't compare yourself to Spock. He's another species; you wouldn't do that with an Andorian or a Betazoid. You do things and have skills he doesn't have and can't do."

"Really, like what?" Leonard's blue eyes looked doubtfully at Jim.

"Your medical expertise for one; your fame is renowned across the quadrant. You can cure a rainy day, remember?" Jim smiled at him. "You'd be surprised how many requests come across my desk that I don't forward to you, requesting you to go here or there for something or other. I mostly turn them down. I can't do without my CMO. You provide medical expertise, counsel, warmth, affection to all the crew. In spite of your grumps, the whole crew knows you're soft as a marshmallow inside. Bones, you're my sounding board, my counselor, sometimes even my conscience; you're my drinking partner, my doctor, but most of all, you're my dearest friend. You're invaluable to me in every way. So stop comparing yourself to Spock. You and Spock, you're each unique and special in your own right," Jim told him earnestly.

Leonard looked at Jim and saw the deep sincerity in the hazel eyes. "I know you're right, Jim, but it gets to me once in a while."

Jim chuckled. "Don't kid yourself, It gets to me sometimes too. As Christine says, Spock's practically perfect in every way. Of course she is a little biased," he added. Christine's hopeless crush on Spock was not a secret among the Command crew.

"Well, he may be all those things, but he'll never be the Captain, you are. Your crew would follow you to hell and back, and you can't say they'd do that for Spock, not yet anyway. Remember the Galileo fiasco?"

Jim sighed. "Yeah. I remember, but Spock did learn a little more about commanding humans during that mission. Afterward, when we debriefed, he admitted his mistakes. He does want to learn the many, sometimes illogical, ways of commanding a mostly human crew."

"Glad to hear it," Leonard said.

Jim looked up at the sun, then at his chronometer. It was Alpha shift on the ship; his usual shift. He missed his ship and his crew fiercely and he wondered how they were faring. The sudden beep of his comm startled them. "It's the ship," he told Bones, surprised. "Another coded message." Leonard handed him his own comm so Jim could transcribe the message. It was once again hidden among the squawks and hisses of Uhura's pretend quantum noises.

Jim listened carefully, ear cocked, and jotted whatever it was he heard. Leonard couldn't make heads or tails of it. Finally, Jim raised his head and grinned at Bones, his hazel eyes alight. He showed Leonard what he'd decoded.

 ** _Roms gone. Com in 3 days._**

"So they're comin' for us!" Leonard grinned hugely and gave a sigh of relief. "And the Romulans are gone?"

"They're gone! Uhura wouldn't comm us unless they were sure. The War Bird is gone. We can relax until the ship hails us that they're in orbit and ready to beam us up. Meanwhile, we can do a little exploring, go back into the woods, look for the felines and maybe spot other animals, do more scans of the rocks around here. You'll be able to add to your report like you wanted to. We can't go too far today, or back to the lake, what with the rapid weather changes around here, but it'll be fun to explore. We can have a fire, relax a little; finally enjoy our camping trip even if we do have to sleep in the cave."

"Well now, that's just fine!" Leonard's eyes shone in relief. "Let's eat lunch and then we'll go exploring. Hey I just thought of somethin'. We can have a bath every day, and we don't have to put rocks over the latrine, or cover the fire pit during the day. Makes a body feel like celebratin' doesn't it?" A wide grin broke out on his genial face."

"Sure does." Jim chuckled at Leonard's obvious delight.

"I'm going to answer the ship's comm, just to let them know we received the message. Let me have your comm. we still have to be careful, don't know what comm range the Romulan ship may have."

Leonard handed it over and Jim typed out what he wanted to say in Morse code and sent it.

"What did you send?"

" ** _Ok. 2 wait."_** Jim told him.

"Succinct and to the point, Captain. Now then," Leonard rubbed his hands gleefully, "let's eat and we'll have more coffee. We have plenty now we know the ship's comin'."

They ate at their leisure, enjoying the coffee. Leonard made two portions of soup, no need to stint now, and they had that before their instant meals. Pleasantly full, they cleaned up, and put out the fire, they sat back against the warm wall of the cave. "Might take a nap, Jimbo. I never get a chance to nap on the ship. Even on my day off, there's always somethin' that needs doin' or an emergency crops off. Seems like a mighty good opportunity to do so now though," he said covering a yawn.

"Go right ahead. Might even join you in a while. Just want to finish adding a couple of things to my personal log." Jim was amused to see that as soon as Leonard got more comfortable against the rock wall and closed his eyes, he was asleep. Jim finished with his added notes to his log, and scooted closer to Bones. He put his phaser and communicator by his side. For the first time in days he felt the tension in him dissipate. Soon, he would be back on board his ship, and meanwhile he and Bones would explore, hike, and enjoy themselves a bit. Of course they'd still have to hunker down in the cave at night when the storms came in, and it would still be bitterly cold, but there would be no more danger from the Romulan scout parties. After Bones woke up, they'd walk to the forest to see if they could spot anymore wild life. That there were other types of animals, he had no doubt, but they'd seen nothing since the feline and her kits. Another strange thing about this planet. Were the wild creatures who lived here always this shy, this reclusive? And where were the birds and other flying creatures? Did only mammals inhabit the planet? Maybe when the ship arrived the Science department could find out more. They could afford to spend a little more time in orbit here to get some answers to these questions. That was part of the main mission of his exploratory ship. This planet definitely needed a complete survey, it was one of the strangest class M planets they'd ever found. He set his comm to vibrate in 30 minutes, closed his eyes and slept.

Jim opened his eyes, roused from his nap by the vibrating comm, feeling refreshed. "Bones, wakey, wakey. Let's go exploring. Come on." Jim nudged him gently. Leonard eyes squinted open and he looked balefully at his Captain. "Damn it, you hyperactive infant, what's the rush? Cain't a man relax for an hour at least?"

"You can relax tonight after the rains come down. Meanwhile it's a gorgeous day, so let's go exploring."

Leonard sighed. Jim was impossible to turn down when he was excited like this; his excitement was endearing as well as contagious, so it was best to just give in gracefully. When it was possible, Leonard indulged this harmless childlike excitement in Jim; occasionally, it was good for him to lay down his heavy responsibilities as Captain.

Leonard filled their canteen, and got out his Med kit. In a last minute thought, he also pulled a few specimen bags out of the kit and stuck them in his belt in case he found something of interest. Jim put the binoculars around his neck, checked his phaser, and got a couple of ration bars in case they got hungry. "Let's go, Bones." He looked up at the sky. Clear and beautiful. They'd have a good two hours before they should head back to the cave if the usual storm pattern was on time. Tomorrow they could get an early start and explore a lot longer. "Let's leave everything out to air in the sun," Jim told him.

Leonard agreed and the two men made their way down the hill; they walked leisurely to the woods where it was much cooler among the trees. Leonard had his tricorder out waving it around some of the foliage. He stopped at a particularly bright flower when he heard a hissing sound coming from it. He bent closer. "Look, Jim." He whispered, pointing at a small dark brown winged creature no bigger than his pinky nail. "First insect we've seen, it's eating nectar." Jim bent closer, but Leonard stopped him from getting too close. "Be careful, we don't know if it stings or not." They watched in fascination until the little beetle-like insect, glutted with nectar, flew a little unsteadily away. Jim chuckled. "It seems to be a little drunk on that nectar."

Leonard nodded, his eyes crinkled in mirth. "Felt that way a couple of times myself."

They walked on, mesmerized by the pristine beauty of the small forest, their boots making very little noise on the damp earth. "Maybe the feline and her kits will be at the stream again," Leonard whispered.

"I hope so." They had come to the near vicinity of the spring so they crouched down on all fours to approach the area. Jim took point and crept forward silently; he peeked through the dense bushes. Leonard could hear him draw a deep breath. His hand went back and he beckoned Leonard to crawl forward. As quietly as possible, Leonard crawled up beside Jim and stared at the scene before him. Besides the mama feline and her three kits who were napping, there was a small horse like creature, sitting with its eyes closed and its head on its hooves; it was the size of a large dog. There was also a simian like mammal placidly nursing her baby, chattering at it softly, her long furred fingers scratching its tiny head. All the animals were seemingly relaxed and at peace with each other in the cool shade of the large trees that grew by the water.

The two men, still kneeling, stared transfixed at the sight. The animals seemed to be completely unaware they were being watched. After a few minutes Jim motioned for Leonard to back up. Jim followed him until they were a good distance away from the stream. Finally, Jim stood up and hauled Leonard up to his feet. He grinned. "That was a pretty amazing sight. Glad to see there are more species of creatures here. I wish we had a camera, what a missed opportunity." He shook his head. "Let's head back. I don't think anything could top that."

They walked back to the hill at a leisurely pace. "Maybe when the ship comes we can try to get pictures. Really this planet is so unusual that our ecologists would have a field day down here, even if it's for a short time. I'm gonna' add the description of those critters to my notes and the fact that what looked like felines, equines, and mammals and that they all seemed to coexist peacefully. That's sort of amazing. I wonder if they're all herbivores and that's why? They don't hunt and eat each other so they're at peace with each other."

"Another question for the Science department. I bet when Spock reads your report he'll want to send the ecologists down to find out that very thing. I'll make it an order if I have to." He grinned at Bones. "It's fascinating."

Leonard groaned and poked him in the shoulder. They reached the hill and saved their breath for climbing instead of talking. The sun was starting to lower in the horizon as they got back to the cave, and it was already starting to get cooler.

"I'll start the fire. We can have some hot tea while we write our additional notes while their still fresh in our minds." Leonard brewed the tea and got the tarp out so they could sit on it around the fire. "This is nice, Jim, real relaxin'."

"I bet we hear from the ship tomorrow," Jim said. "A real comm call. They'll travel all night, and the Romulans will be too far away from Perseus by tomorrow to eavesdrop on our conversation."

Leonard sighed happily. It would be good to hear Uhura's sweet voice on the comm, or even the hobgoblins monotone baritone, he thought.

As the sun set, Leonard set up for supper while Jim jumped on the lookout rock to check the weather. "Storm clouds are starting to gather on the plain, Bones. Let's remember to set up the pots for more water and tomorrow we can have another bath. After supper we'll both need to use the latrine and cover it. I don't want it to flood again."

They sat around the fire eating their supper, relaxed and content making desultory conversation, laughing and reminiscing about their history together all the way back to their days on the Farragut when they were starting out in Fleet. The faraway rolling thunder brought their reminiscing to a halt. "Guess it's time to call it a day," Jim said regretfully.

"Yeah it's been a fine day," Leonard said. "You go use the latrine, Jim. I'll fold up the tarp and the sleeping bags, and put out the fire. Everything's well aired by now, and we don't want them to get wet."

Leonard doused the fire and then picked up the tarp and sleeping bags. He arranged everything on the cave room floor the way it had been. Jim came back. "Your turn, Bones. I'll cover the fire pit and you cover the latrine."

The thunder sounded a little closer so Leonard hurried to do Jim's bidding. They didn't want to get caught outside once the storm started. The memory of the extra fierce one had taught them both a lesson. By the time he got back, the fire pit was covered and, as usual darkness prior to a storm was falling quickly and it was already much colder. Leonard shivered as he went into the cave. Jim was already inside and the lantern was already lit. He had started piling the bigger rocks around the cave opening. Leonard got both pots to set outside to catch the rain water.

"I think since there's no danger of Romulans in the morning, I'll leave a hole so we can watch the storm. When we were kids, Sam and I used to stand at the kitchen door with dad and watch the Iowan storms. They can get pretty fierce you know, and as long as dad was with us, we weren't afraid." He smiled, remembering those two little boys one on each side of their father pressed up tight against his tall, warm body.

"You want some hot coffee, Jim? It's getting colder."

"Yeah, that would be great." Jim stepped back from the entrance just as the first drops of rain started to fall. The wind had also picked up, and lightning began to flash. "Stay away from the entrance and the wall, Jimmy."

"Don't worry," Jim told him, grabbing the mug of coffee. "I've learned my lesson. I'll sit right here by you. Let's get in the sleeping bags. I want to update my personal log about our visit to the forest."

"Yeah and I want to add what we saw to my report for Spock and the Science department. I have the notes I made and want to transcribe them."

They settled into the sleeping bags, working quietly and contently in the safe haven of the cave while the storm raged outside. Tomorrow they'd go out again to explore and hopefully hear from the ship.

 **There Will Be an Epilogue**


	21. Chapter 21

**Two Alone**

 **Chapter 21**

 **Epilogue**

" **It is at any rate a pleasure to meet**

 **such ontologically improbable creatures."**

 **John Green**

" **The Fault in Our Stars"**

Jim sat in his Command chair looking at the beauty of Perseus 2 below them. Chekov and Sulu were busy at their stations plotting their new route away from the planet. The ship would not have to leave their Perseus 2 orbit the way they had come, through the back door of the planet, so to speak. The ship had come in to the Perseus solar system by navigating very close and through the asteroids and moons which were scattered throughout the solar system, which had made traveling through and around them very risky.

The _Enterprise_ had been becalmed and in stationary orbit above Perseus 2 for four days. Most of the Science department, under Spock's directives, had been down to the planet collecting samples, scanning, photographing, recording sounds, and very carefully observing the wild life in the forest. They returned to the ship every afternoon, long before the storm buildup. Bones and Jim had made quite sure of that. The Science Department Away teams: ecologists, biologists, geologists, naturalists, entomologists, all returned each day almost giddy with excitement about what they found. Bones had elected to go down with them a couple of times, just to see the wildlife again, he told Jim afterward. He didn't want them disturbed in any way, or frightened, recalling the strange, peaceful sight of the three different species at the stream, resting happily and content with each other. There had also been sightings of insects and a few flying creatures, some flowering plants and even a couple of different types of small fish-like specimens in the lake and stream. The ecology of Perseus 2 was unique, Spock reported, and obviously still in the process of evolutionary development. He would mark it as such in his report, making sure that any other Federation ship that came this way would be extremely careful not to disturb the process. It had now been classified a type M planet with strong warnings and caveats.

After the ship's initial comm contact with Jim and Bones, the _Enterprise_ had arrived in three days just as Jim had anticipated. He and Bones had enjoyed themselves while waiting for the ship, exploring, relaxing, and eating their fill for a change. They had washed all their clothes, finally including their black pants, and had bathed every day in the warm sunshine. On the second day they had started out early and walked to the lake. Once there both men had enjoyed a long relaxing swim in the clear, cool water. They had also worked on their reports. For the first time, Jim included the accidental death of the Romulan warrior, and how he and Bones had handled the accident so as not to alert the Romulans of their presence. Jim had stressed that Bones had saved his life, that his weapon had been set on stun, and that the Romulan had fallen to his death from the high lookout rock. If Komack made an issue of it, he would take the brunt of his wrath. He would not let Komack harass or harangue Bones. The doctor was working hard to put the Romulan death behind him, and Jim would make sure Komack would not subject him to any more guilt.

The morning after being beamed back to the ship, Jim called a meeting of the senior crew for a formal debrief of their time on Perseus 2. He had already sent his official report to Admiral Komack and CC'd a copy to Admiral Nogura, since it involved a Romulan Warbird and the death of a Romulan warrior. It was a standing order from the C in C to all ships' Captains. He wanted a copy of any report of sightings, contacts, or confrontations with Romulans. Jim knew it would irritate Komack to know Admiral Nogura had a copy of the report, but he also knew it would curtail and contain his ire.

Now at the debrief, the Command crew sat mesmerized by the description of all that had happened to their Captain and CMO. They expressed their dismay and horror (except for Spock who sat impassively through the entire debrief ) when they heard about the Captain's close call at phaser point with the Romulan warrior, the accidental fall and death of the young warrior, their close call with the Romulan scouting party, and Jim's electrocution by the lightning strike of the cave.

"He's perfectly, fine," Leonard assured them. "I made sure of it. Tested him very carefully," he told them.

"Captain, 'tis lucky you were not killed. Very lucky," Scotty told him.

"I was Scotty. Wait until Ma hears about that one."

"Now, Jim, don't you go scarin' Winona with your tales," Bones warned. "I promised her I'd take good care if you."

"And so you have, Bones," Jim smiled his sunshine smile at him.

Spock had stayed silent during the entire debrief. After they finished, he turned off the recording. "It seems that your stay on Perseus 2 was filled with difficult situations, Captain. However, may I say, Sir, that I had no doubt your survival training and expertise would prove sufficient to overcome all difficulties or dangers that might arise."

"Well, thank you, Spock. Your faith in my abilities is certainly gratifying, but if it hadn't been for Bones, I wouldn't be here for you to say that to me."

"Indeed, Captain." Spock told him stiffly.

Jim coughed behind his hand to hide his mirth as he caught Bones' gigantic eye roll.

"Yes indeed, Spock. I'd be dead twice over if it hadn't been for Bones' quick thinking and medical expertise." He spoke soberly remembering his close calls.

"So you say, Sir."

"I do say, Mr. Spock. I say it most loudly, emphatically, and thankfully."

Spock opened his mouth and Bones interjected. "Don't say another word, hobgoblin. You're just mad 'cause it wasn't you who saved Jim this time."

Spock looked at him frostily, eyebrow raised to his bangs. "Anger is an emotion, doctor, and a highly illogical emotion at that."

"Huh! Imagine that," Leonard said, dry as dust. "Must be your human side creepin' out of you then."

As one, the Command crew snickered. They had sorely missed the almost daily Spock and Bones show.

Jim looked at his smiling crew. He had missed them terribly while on Perseus 2. Jim stood, grinned at all of them and clasped the miffed Spock on the shoulder.

"Alright everyone. Let's go mind the store," he told them, and with that, their Perseus 2 mission was over.

* * *

 **1\. As always my thanks go out to my dear friend Carol who proof reads these chapters. Thank you, Carol! What would I do without you?**


End file.
